So, women's volleyball, then...

[Reed John]

FOUR IN A ROW!!!! 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010!!!

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=5934835

That is all.

[Gerontophile]

So, women's volleyball, then...

Reed, you are a closet perv, and I claim my five Kleenex.

(I am teasing, sorry)

[ursus arctos]

So, women's volleyball, then...

Hearty congrats to the Nittany Lions and Reed.

Reed, has there been any carryover effect from this run in terms of popularity of the sport among girls in PA? The relative absence of sun and sand in State College makes their achievement all the more impressive.

[Reed John]

So, women's volleyball, then...

I think it goes both ways.

The success has raised the sport's profile around here, but volleyball has been popular in the schools here for at least 20 years. Indeed, girls volleyball is popular across the country because it's in the fall and many of the same girls play basketball. And because of Title IX, just about every college and university has womens volleyball now, so Penn State is on top of a large heap.

None of PSU's starters are from PA this year. They're mostly from the east, however.

But, the roots are even deeper here. Pennsylvania is one of the only, if not the only, eastern state that has high school boys volleyball as a full state association sport and has for a long time. It's popular in Lancaster County and the most popular game among the Mennonites and Amish. My high school won the state title last year and it was popular when I was there. I didn't realize that was rare until I went to college. People in much of the country are unaware there is such a thing as men's volleyball.

Penn State's men's team is always the eastern rep in the NCAA tournament (4 teams only). When they won the NCAA title in 1994, they were the first non-California team to do so. Since then, Lewis College in Illinois, Hawaii, and Penn State again, have won it. Some smaller schools around here like Juniata, Eastern Mennonite, and St Francis, PA have men's programs too.

The women's game is more interesting in some ways. It is a bit more tactical, while the men can hit it so hard that most kills are unstoppable. But the men's final four is here this year. I'll go.

The amazing thing about the PSU women is the height of the front line stars. They have a few girls who are 6'6". Watching them live is like seeing the next evolutionary leap of our species.