Photo courtesy of Frederic Pasteleurs, Wikipedia Commons
Gopsusports posted a nice piece yesterday — “Meet the Newcomers,” with a variety of quotes from each of Penn State’s 2009 Freshmen and transfers. We were particularly impressed by their answers to “What does it mean to you to play for Penn State?”:
From Darcy Dorton:
“Playing volleyball at Penn State is unbelievable. No other program offers what Penn State has to offer. No other programs can match the intensity, competitiveness, passion, and tradition of excellence that the Penn State volleyball family, as a whole, possesses. There is so much pride in becoming a Penn State athlete, but especially in being a part of the volleyball program. It feels great to put on that Navy and White jersey and represent such an amazing place. I love it here.”
From Kristin Carpenter:
“I couldn’t have asked for a better family than the one that I’ve been accepted into here. It has always been a dream of mine to play here and be apart of a team like this. Besides getting into the sport of volleyball, deciding to come to Penn State has been the best decision of my life.”
From Marika Racibarskas:
“Every day I walk into the gym, I realize how much of an honor it is playing for Penn State and how many girls would do anything to be in my shoes.”
From Fatima Balza
“Playing for PSU represents my dream! In Venezuela, I had to choose between school and volleyball because it is impossible to play for the National Team and have time to study. At first I chose volleyball, and I didn’t study for three years. Then I decided that I needed to study because volleyball is a short career, but I still wanted to play. My dream was get a scholarship to a good university with a good volleyball program. PSU is my dream come true. Playing for PSU means effort, smart decisions, dedication, focus and happiness, not only in volleyball but also in school.”
From Jessica Ullrich:
“It means everything to me. It means that the hard work has paid off and that there is a so much more ahead of me to learn and be a part of. Opportunity of a lifetime!”
Media Day Video (we know, we’re a bit late)
A couple of days ago — OK, two weeks ago — gopsusports posted a video of Russ Rose’s Media Day press conference. Our only complaint is you can’t hear the questions. That said, we’re pleased PSU posted the video (and we like the quality — any chance of getting that for your online streams of matches?):
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx_O-xPBmdk&p=C4C25840DEC95298&playnext=1&index=13[/youtube]
Finally, here’s a video from Media Day of some of the players answering questions (once again — could you repeat those questions)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qG8ifo-M3jU&p=C4C25840DEC95298&playnext=1&index=14[/youtube]