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never advanced past the NCAA regional semi2nals. The Big Ten changed all that. The Nittany Lions began conference play in 1991, and the new challenge, coupled with rising institutional support, sharp- ened their postseason edge. They needed only three years to reach their 2rst national 2nal and eight years to win their 2rst NCAA crown. You could call it a win-win scenario. Or, to be more accurate, a win-win- win-win-win-win-win scenario. This past December, Penn State swept BYU in the NCAA 2nal to claim its seventh na- tional championship and its sixth in the past eight years. The Lions had struggled a bit early in the fall – at least by their stratospheric standards – but they closed out the regular season with 13 consecutive sweeps, and they were their usual domi- nant selves from the moment the post- season began, dropping only two sets in victories over Siena, Dayton, UCLA, Wis- consin, Stanford and the Cougars. Eventually, Penn State is going to run out of room in its trophy case for all hard- ware it has amassed over the years. It now has won more national championships than any team in NCAA women's volleyball history, and given the strong performance of this year's freshman class, there's ample reason to believe the Lions aren't done winning titles. But, as Rose said, "We're not trying to hoard them. We're like every- body else. We're trying to do the best we can. We represent a great university and a great conference." Those conference ties played an impor- tant role in Penn State's most recent tri- umph. Prior to facing top-ranked Stanford in the semi2nal, Rose talked to a number of his Big Ten colleagues about what the Nittany Lions would need to do against the Cardinal. Penn State had already faced Stanford, losing 3-2 in Palo Alto in Sep- tember, but the advice he received on the eve of the national semis proved invaluable. Said Rose, "I'm just appreciative of the fact that those people are willing to help and not be so territorial about it and say 'We don't want you to be successful because it hurts us.'" Penn State had advanced to the 2nal four in Oklahoma City by topping the Big Ten's regular-season champion, Wiscon- sin, in four sets in the 2nal of the Lexington Regional. The Nittany Lions had defeated the Badgers, 3-1, in the 2013 NCAA 2nal, and they also swept them in Madison this past October. So although fourth-seeded Wisconsin was technically the favorite against 24h-seeded Penn State, the result of the match caught no one o3-guard. Nor, for that matter, did the outcome of the 2nal four. The Nittany Lions romped to a 25-16 victory in the 2rst set of the semi2nal vs. Stanford, and then won two of the next three. Junior outside hitter Megan Courtney 2nished with 23 kills, FOND FAREWELL Rose and Han- cock embrace following Penn State's victory over BYU. The senior setter had 36 assists in her final col- lege match. Photo by Mark Selders/Penn State Athletics

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