Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/523134
excitement and energy to our group." Now that he's got a year of play- ing experience to draw from, the coaches are expecting him to take his game to a new level. Whether that translates into even bigger numbers this fall is an open question. The Lions have a young, deep receiver corps that is only going to get younger and deeper over the summer with the addition to four-star freshmen Juwan Johnson and Irvin Charles. But no matter how many times he handles the ball this fall, he ex- pects to make those catches count. "I want to be able to stretch the /eld vertically and be an all- around threat," he said. "I want to be the person to make that play, to be someone the o0ense can rely on when it needs to get going." ■ ALI FRANTTI FEMALE FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR Newcomer seizes opportunity to help PSU claim title FLYING START Hamilton led the Big Ten as a redshirt freshman with an average of 6.3 recep- tions per game. In addition, his 899 re- ceiving yards paced the Nittany Lions. Photos by Steve Manuel I t probably says something about the state of the Penn State women's vol- leyball program that when Ali Frantti pounded down 16 kills and added a pair of aces in a four-set NCAA semi/nal victory over Stanford in December, it didn't rank as her best match of the season. In fact, it didn't even rank as her best match of the season against the Cardinal. Said coach Russ Rose, "She played even better the /rst time we played Stanford." Rose was referring to a hard-fought 3-2 loss in September in Palo Alto, in which the freshman outside hitter led the Nittany Lions in kills while adding 11 digs for her /rst career double-dou- ble. "It was her /rst big match against a great opponent, and she had 22 kills and hit over .400," Rose said. "But for her to come out and play as well as she did [in the rematch at NCAAs] is a ter- ri/c tribute to her." By the time she wrapped up her debut season with the Nittany Lions, the trib- utes had been pouring in for a while. Frantti was named MVP of her /rst col- lege tournament, claiming the honor a1er leading the Lions to three con- secutive sweeps at the Penn State Classic