The first time I witnessed Penn State volleyball was on Sept. 26, 2009, during my debut season as a volleyball beat reporter for The Daily Illini. Penn State was a two-time defending national champion back then, running on a 77-match winning streak. The Nittany Lions were phenomenal. The Illini didn’t have a chance against the height and power of superstars Blair Brown and Arielle Wilson. 

A personal obsession was born during that moment — a burning desire to know everything about Penn State volleyball and what made the program so phenomenal. The unbeatable program was beyond anything I ever imagined. It was a brilliant showcase of strength, excellence and teamwork demonstrated not only by the players’ success, but by their attitude, intensity and ability to insert fear into their opponents eyes.

My dream was for Illinois head coach Kevin Hambly to lead the Illini to surpass the greatness of Penn State volleyball.

I started watching Penn State games all the time after that, wrestling with the conflicted emotions of wanting the power house to crumble and wanting a Big Ten team to win it all.

I rushed home from vacation in winter of ‘09 to watch the Nittany Lions win their third straight title, wishing that Illinois was in that position.

“I’m going to watch them lose one day,” I told my dad after the game. “One day.”

That day came the following season, Sept. 24, 2010, what I now call Christmas in September. The Penn State winning streak had been snapped by Stanford in a five-set battle two weeks before but the Nittany Lions still had a 65-match Big Ten winning streak.

Huff Hall was packed for the event, which Illinois eventually won 17-15 in the fifth set in what was the most exhilarating match I ever covered as a sports reporter. The moment was huge for me because Big Ten volleyball was no longer controlled by the Nittany Lions.

Penn State still won the national title in 2011, which pleased me because the victory proved that a team doesn’t have to be perfect to win it all.

The Illini beat the Nittany Lions both times last season, which was Penn State’s worst season in a decade. With an extremely young roster, the Nittany Lions went 25-8 and lost in the Sweet 16 to UCLA, which went on to defeat Illinois for the national title. Looking back, I’d call that a pretty impressive season.

I’m ashamed to admit that I turned my back on Penn State volleyball. Maybe because I was busy, maybe because I was a fair weather fan, but probably because of the drama that hit Penn State last fall.

The conversation at the football game last weekend was focused around the Illinois-Penn State recruiting drama. As expected, multiple references were made to “building” and “coming back together,” from Penn State players and coaches. It made me realize that Penn State volleyball is still chugging along — it is currently ranked No. 1 and set to face No. 21 Illinois this Saturday night at Huff Hall.

It’s simply an unfortunate coincidence that the volleyball team’s worst season coincided with the Jerry Sandusky scandal at Penn State.

Penn State volleyball doesn’t have the notoriety or regard of football, but the program has an unbelievable history of success. It has always been under-regarded due to the lack of popularity of women’s volleyball and now thanks to the scandal-smeared image of Penn State athletics, has lost even more respect simply by association.

There are no words to adequately describe the damage those unthinkable acts left on Penn State as a whole. Volleyball had nothing to do with that drama but was nonetheless affected as was the entire name of Penn State athletics.

I talked to Penn State’s head coach Russ Rose three different times on the telephone during my two-year tenure of covering the Illinois women’s volleyball team from 2009-10. The conversations were relaxed, with Rose cracking jokes about the weather and how he didn’t get accepted to Illinois back in the day (he graduated from George Williams College in 1975).

Rose is a humble man, even though in the span of his 33-year career, he led the Nittany Lions to five national championships, 31 NCAA tournament appearances and 14 Big Ten titles. 

He always credited the strength of the program to the university and everything it provided. He was happy to contribute to the Penn State culture. He always maintained that Penn State’s winning streaks were separate streaks and separate teams.

“Our winning tradition just adds to the strength of this university,” Rose told me in September of 2010. “We just want to keep bringing quality people through the program and keep contributing to that culture.”

I talked to Rose again Monday morning and the conversation was different than before. There was no small talk, no jokes were cracked and we simply got down to business. 

He was uncomfortable talking about the aftermath of the Jerry Sandusky incident, though he couldn’t deny that it hit his program.

“It’s been a challenge for a lot of people,” Rose said. “We try not to let that impact us. We are the women’s volleyball program and we are here to be the best program we can possibly be.”

He’s not necessarily trying to single-handedly rebuild Penn State’s image, but doing what he’s always done: coach women’s volleyball, with a gruff yet friendly persona. 

“People do different things in times of trouble,” Rose said. “Some people hide and some stand up. I coach women’s volleyball, that’s what I’m paid to do here.”

Maybe the drama has taken its toll on Rose. Maybe he was just tired during our Monday morning conversation. Maybe during my time as a columnist my interviewing skills dulled down. I’ll never really know.

Maybe this weekend I’ll overcome my celebrity fear and actually introduce myself to Rose. Maybe Illinois will sweep Penn State. Maybe Penn State will sweep Illinois. Maybe it will be a five-set battle.

There’s only one fact I’m sure of: Penn State volleyball is sure to put on a great show Saturday night.

Because they are Penn State.

Emily is a graduate student. She can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @EmilyBayci.