With the season just two weekends old, Penn State women's volleyball coach Russ Rose has yet to show any consistency to the pattern of substitutions.
Last weekend at the Fairfield Invitational, Rose gave playing time to players like sophomores Emily Gregera and Jen Amobi, who were all but non-existent the weekend before at home. This in addition to the dramatically stepped-up roles of freshman setter Sam Tortorello and sophomore outside hitter Syndie Nadeau.
"I think I am going to sub a little bit more," Rose said. "To me, practices as well as games need to be a competitive environment. If your environment is competitive, kids recognize that if they get a chance to get a position, they better seize it, and make so nobody beats them out."
The only players who seem to have a tight grip on starting spots are middle hitters Robyn Guokas and Cara Smith, outside hitter Mishka Levy and libero Hillary Sexton. The other positions have all seen some sort of head-to-head competition between teammates, which could lead to some rather odd locker-room dynamics.
"It's not being a bad teammate; it's just trying to get people to be the best they can be," Rose said. "If you get everyone working hard and trying to improve, then you're going to have a good team. You might not be better then schools A, B and C, but you are going to be better than you were."
Softer schedule
As the Nittany Lions prepare for this weekend's Penn State Classic, forgive them for not fretting over the opponents they will face. It's not exactly a "Who's Who" of national powers.
"We've had years where we've had the No. 1 strength of schedule in the country, and we've had years where we didn't have it," Rose said. "So I'm not overly concerned that our schedule is not overly laden with the teams people traditionally want us to play."
The Lions face Villanova, Morgan State and Army at Rec Hall this weekend after fattening up on a steady diet of the Qunnipiacs, Fairfields and New Hampshires of the world thus far.
"I think it's really good because we need to build some confidence," sophomore Tabitha Eshelman said. "It allows us more time to come together, whereas last year we had all these little problems, this way we can work them out before we get started with the bigger teams."
With two freshmen, a transfer (Amobi) and a player returning from a year off (Guokas) garnering significant court time, the tune-ups early on should pay dividends later.
"If you are an experienced team, then I think you want to play more experienced teams," said Rose, who defended the schedule and pointed out that Akron, Fairfield and New Hampshire all will contend for conference titles. "And the experienced teams [happen to be] the higher ranked teams."
"We have so many incoming freshmen this year that I think it's a lot of help," junior Erin Iceman said. "It will help us play more as a team down the road."
Nadeau coming-out party
Quebec native Nadeau seized her opportunity to play in Connecticut, appearing in all nine games after seeing action in only four of 10 games the week before. She took advantage and set a career high -- twice -- with 12 kills.
"I thought Syndie went in and did a really nice job," Rose said.
"I think Syndie gives us a little better block than both Amy and Ashley [Pederson]."
Nadaeu's nine kills against Seton Hall led the Lions.
"I was happy, but not surprised," Nadeau said of the increased playing time.
"The outside hitters have been in a rotation, in-and-out, all the time."
Rose said Nadeau will continue to play more often, depending on the particular match-up style of the opponent.
"Syndie's got a good volleyball IQ, so she knows what's going on," Rose said. "She's not our most physical player but she has a good feel for how to play volleyball, and sometimes you can build on that."
