Blue White Illustrated

sistant, she's been involved in a few hundred of those victories, and she knows how much winning means to her boss. "He realizes it's a big deal – he has so much respect for Shoji, and he understands the magnitude of it – but it's not something he'd want to talk about," Rockwell said. "He hates at- tention. He doesn't want the focus on him- self. The focus is always on the team." This year's team, as most years, is pretty good. Through early October, the Nittany Lions stood at 16-3, their first two losses coming on the road to top-10 opponents Stanford and Nebraska and their third at home vs. No. 15 Illinois. Rose wasn't thrilled with his team's play – service errors have been a nagging issue, and he referred to a mistake-filled sweep of No. 24 Northwestern in October as looking like a "pillow fight"– but given the talent on hand and his staff's experience, it's fair to assume another deep NCAA run is in the offing. A five-time AVCA national Coach of the Year, Rose led Penn State to the first of its six national championships in 1999, adding five more – including a historic run of four in a row from 2007-10 – in the decade and a half since. That sustained success is a credit both to Rose's consistent approach to preparation, and, Rockwell says, a willingness to adapt. "What's cool is that he's so open to learning about doing things differently," she said. "He wants to know what the best programs are doing, what the national team is doing. He's al- ways learning." Among the few programs that can rank as Penn State's peer is Hawaii, where Shoji has won four national titles and two na- tional Coach of the Year awards. Rockwell says it's fitting the two veterans find them- selves jockeying, consciously or not, for the wins record. "Everybody respects them both so much and knows what they've done is amazing," she said. "Within the volleyball community, everybody's talking about it. Among us peons, it's pretty awesome." As such, Rockwell couldn't help making a slightly big deal out of things in Sep- tember, when Rose finally did pass Shoji in a home victory over DePaul. "Some of the players knew he was in the running, although the freshmen were oblivious," she said with a laugh. "But I wanted to announce it – you know, it's kind of a big deal playing for this guy. He was gracious when I did it, and maybe a little embar- rassed. I know he didn't want me to, but I didn't care." ■ MEN'S SOCCER Terps hand Lions first loss of season Third-ranked Penn State was out of sync in an uncharacteristic 4-0 loss at Maryland's Ludwig Field on Oct. 12 in front of 2,502 fans. Penn State had been the final un- beaten team in Division I but fell to 10- 1-1 (4-1-0 Big Ten) after allowing two goals in each half. Maryland got both first-half goals from Mael Corboz, scoring four times on only 12 shots. Corboz scored 12 minutes into the game on a cross into the penalty area and put the ball into the lower-right side netting. He doubled his total in the 32nd minute, sending his fourth penalty kick to the left past Andrew Wolverton. The senior goalkeeper dived to the correct side, but the well- placed shot was too quick for him. Despite the loss, Penn State re- mains in first place in the Big Ten with 12 points in five games. Michi- gan sits in second with eight points. WOMEN'S SOCCER Scarlet Knights stun No. 6 Penn State Sixth-ranked Penn State suffered its first Big Ten loss of the season on Oct. 11, falling to No. 20 Rutgers, 1-0. The winning goal came in the 28th minute, as Madison Tiernan sprinted down the middle and fired the ball into the upper right corner. Tiernan's score was one of only two shots on goal allowed by Penn State. The Nittany Lions outshot the Scarlet Knights 6-0 in the final 10 minutes. Mallory Weber sparked the rally, sending the ball careening off the crossbar. Thirty seconds later, Mallory Peterson nearly knotted the Penn State upset by No. 15 Illinois Fifth-ranked Penn State fell short in its comeback bid against No. 15 Illi- nois, falling in four sets (24-26, 25-16, 23-25, 22-25) on Oct. 11 at Rec Hall. Four Nittany Lions contributed double-digit kills, with redshirt jun- ior Aiyana Whitney totaling a match- high 15. Freshman Haleigh Washing- ton posted a career-high 14 kills on 26 errorless swings, hitting .538. Washington also led the blocking unit with seven, including one solo stuff. Senior Nia Grant and freshman Ali Frantti rounded out the group of double-digit performers with 13 kills each. Frantti notched three aces, sev- en digs and four blocks, while Grant posted three digs and three blocks. "I thought we had a great oppor- tunity today, especially when we came out as strong as we did in the first game," coach Russ Rose said. "We had a great crowd, and the band did a terrific job. We had everything going for us, but we didn't play as a team. That rests with me. I have to find a way to get them to play a little bit better together." Frantti opened a 6-0 run that brought the Nittany Lions within four, 23-19, in the fourth set. But Illinois held on, closing out the match with a block. "The worst part is we had fire at the end of the game," Washington said. "It's the worst feeling when you're so close and you're thinking that it's good, but then it's too little, too late." NOTEBOOK

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