The opinions expressed in these blogs are solely those of the people who wrote them, and do not represent the views of WPSU or Penn State University.

Sports

Volleyball Dominance

Posted by Steve Jones on 12/17 at 08:53 AM

If you love round numbers then you will love the Penn State women’s volleyball team.  They have won 100 in a row heading into Thursday’s national semifinal against Hawaii.  Should they defeat Hawaii that would give Russ Rose career win number 1,000. 

All Russ cares about are getting 102 straight wins and career win number 1001 before the year is out.  If that happens Penn State will have won three straight national titles.

What they did in Florida was incredible.  They beat the Gators and Cal without losing a set.  A friend of mine said that when they lose a set you wonder…what the heck is wrong!

Nothing is wrong…they have just been that dominant.

Women’s volleyball has become a priority sport at most schools.  It is emphasized and money is put in.  For a long time it was a west coast sport.  Russ Rose and Penn State changed that.  He has fought hard for his program but he has done so behind the scenes.  He has never pushed his sport in public at the expense of other programs.  In fact he has been quite the opposite.  He is a big fan of the other sports on campus and openly roots for them.

He has been the perfect coach during this run of 100 in a row.  He strikes the right cord with his team.  He demands perfection but has his own style to make the points.  He has a sense of humor that is sarcastic and has you laughing.  When it is time to be serious he is on the mark.  He keeps his own notes and is the ultimate leader.

His team not only wins but they play an exciting brand of volleyball.

Now they need two more wins…two more very, very tough matches.  They can’t get to the second one without the first one and it will be a very tough third ranked Hawaii.  As always…Penn State has the target on it back…just like they have the last 100 times they have played.