Flaws helped bring end to Penn State volleyball season

Flaws helped bring end to Penn State volleyball season
BY GORDON BRUNSKILL

Russ Rose was “disappointed but not surprised” by the way the season ended for the Penn State women’s volleyball team.

Division I’s winningest coach knew early in the season there were flaws, despite high expectations and No. 1 national rankings, but he had hopes all the way to the end he and his players would figure it all out.

It didn’t help that the program has won seven national championships, more than any other team, and had won the last two and six of the previous eight titles. That alone set the bar incredibly high for the Nittany Lions, who fell in three sets to Hawaii in the NCAA regional semifinals. They finished 28-6, ranked No. 9 in the nation.

“Everybody gets positioned in the mindset that every year is a national championship team,” Rose said Monday in his office, after a few weeks to reflect on the season. “I get it, and I want players who want to compete at the highest level. But I think the disappointment was in my mind — there were opportunities for people to really get better, but it had to be an intrinsic sort to do things.

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Gordon Brunskill: 814-231-4608, @gordoncdt
gbrunskill@centredaily.com