Blue White Illustrated

The victory gave Penn State a recordtying sixth national championship, and while it was hardly unexpected – the Nittany Lions went into this year's NCAA tournament seeded second – players were entirely unprepared for the wave of emotion that washed over them in the aftermath of their triumph. "People say you can't put it into words, and you really can't," Hancock said. "A lot have said it's the best feeling in the world. It really is, because to prove you're the best team in the nation is a pretty cool thing. " McClendon was named to the All-Tournament team, primarily on the strength of her 11-kill, 13-dig performance in the semifinals against Washington, and she had plenty of company. Slay, too, received All-Tournament notice after totaling 14 kills, three digs and three blocks against Wisconsin, and so did senior Ariel Scott, whose 21 kills in the title match led all players. And then there was Hancock. The junior setter totaled 48 assists and 16 digs against the Badgers, and just as effective as her sets were her sizzling left-handed serves. Those drove the Badgers crazy, particularly in the decisive fourth game. Said Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield, "We had no offense at all when she was serving. " The Nittany Lions had swept Wisconsin twice during the regular season, but the Badgers were more confident and poised at NCAAs than they had been in those earlier encounters. Seeded 12th, they swept Cal to advance to their first Sweet 16 since 2006, then topped Florida State and Purdue to earn a berth against Texas in the NCAA semifinals. That's where a lot of people probably expected their joyride to end, as the Longhorns were seeded first and seemingly destined for a showdown with their old nemesis Penn State in the final. But the Badgers romped in the first two games and held off a frantic comeback attempt, winning 3-1 to become the lowest-seeded team ever to reach the title match. To Rose, the key to Wisconsin's improvement was the play of freshman setter Lauren Carlini. "She's an incredible talent," he said. "Each time we saw them, they kept getting better, and it was, I The next generation PSU gets set to replenish its roster with seven highly regarded prospects ere's the scary part for all those other teams that will have to knock Penn State off its perch in order to fulfill their own national championship aspirations: The Nittany Lions look as though they're only going to get better in the coming years. While they're set to lose three key starters from their title-winning 2013 team in Deja McClendon, Ariel Scott and Katie Slay, they will welcome one of the highest-rated recruiting classes in the country to campus this coming fall. Seven prospects affirmed their commitments to Penn State during the early signing period in November: Ali Frantti of Spring Grove, Ill.; Haleigh Washington of Colorado Springs, Colo.; Heidi Thelen of Edgewood, Ky.; Nia Reed of Fort Lee, N.J.; Simone Lee of Menomonee Falls, Wis.; Bryanna Weiskircher of Loves Park, Ill.; and Lainy Pierce of Eden, N.Y. All are ranked among the H top 150 high school seniors in the country, as rated by prepvolleyball.com. Five are in the top 15, and three are in the top 10. Lee, Frantti, Washington, Weiskircher and Reed have all been named first-team Under Armour AllAmericans. "All of the players coming in we've had in camp, so we've worked with a lot of these girls and we have a little better handle on our projections, " coach Russ Rose said. "They've all had great success in high school and on their club teams as well. " Lee, a 6-foot-2 outside hitter, is a four-year starter at Menomonee Falls, having served as team captain for the past two years while guiding the Indians to a WIAA state title. With her club team, Club Fusion, Lee earned four AAU All-Tournament honors. She was also a member of the 2012 and '13 USA Girls' Youth National Team. "Coming off of leading her team to a state championship and playing for Team USA this summer, she has a lot of confidence in her skills, Rose " said. "I project her as an outside, although she played right side for Team USA and has played left side for her club team. She has good allaround skill set and a strong frame. " Frantti, a 6-2 outside hitter, recently led Richmond Burton to a state title. In 2012, she garnered first-team All-State honors and Chicago Sun-Times All-Area honors. She is a three-time team MVP and two-year captain. With her club team, Club Fusion, Frantti helped guide the squad to back-to-back AAU titles, collecting MVP honors in 2012 and All-Tournament honors last year. "Ali is one of the most explosive attackers in this year's class, Rose " said. "I see her as a point-scoring outside attacker with the ability to

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