It’s been a busy few weeks for Penn State women’s volleyball. The team wrapped up Big Ten play just five days ago and is now preparing to embark on its 39th NCAA Tournament run.

The Nittany Lions will begin this year’s postseason with a matchup against Princeton at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, December 6 at Rec Hall. If they defeat the Ivy League champions, Russ Rose’s Nittany Lions will take on the winner of American and Towson at 6:30 p.m. the following night at Rec Hall.

The team isn’t focusing on the entire 64-team bracket — or even what could come its way next weekend. Instead, the Nittany Lions are taking a day-by-day approach to the postseason and placing a large emphasis on having fun and keeping loose ahead of what should be a chaotic few weeks.

“I’m only looking at one match at a time, and that’s always been the way I do things,” head coach Russ Rose said. “The second day’s opponents are totally different — the same as during the year with Big Ten opponents. I only prepare for one match at a time. We look at Friday’s match, and if we have an opportunity, we’ll then start talking about Saturday’s opponent on Saturday morning.”

Rose’s approach is simple, but it’s paid dividends for his program in the past. The 2019 Big Ten Coach of the Year has brought the Nittany Lions to every single NCAA Tournament since its inception in 1981 and has led Penn State to seven national championships — the second-most in the NCAA behind Stanford, which has eight.

Rose thinks that competing in the Big Ten, which is arguably the best conference in volleyball, has greatly benefitted the Nittany Lions and prepared them for the rigors of the postseason.

“The Big Ten is certainly a real challenging schedule. There’s no question about that,” Rose said. “It’s 10 weeks of good matches twice a week, but every match that you play now in the NCAA Tournament is a whole different level of stress for individuals. It’s now a one-and-done format that you don’t really have during the regular season.”

The Big Ten sent five ranked teams — No. 4 overall seed Wisconsin, No. 5 Nebraska, No. 7 Minnesota, No. 11 Penn State, and No. 16 Purdue — and two unranked teams — Michigan and Illinois — to this year’s tournament. That’s the most of any of the 32 conferences represented in this year’s field and ahead of the Pac-12 (six), SEC (six), and Big 12 (five).

“Growing up as a little kid, you want to play in the Big Ten because of how hard every single game is. You respect every opponent,” setter Gabby Blossom said.

Blossom added that playing through the Big Ten’s tough schedule each season prepares the team to bounce back from inevitable tough losses and learn from its challenges.

The Nittany Lions will receive a major boost in this year’s bracket thanks to the return of sophomore middle blocker Serena Gray, who missed the majority of last year’s postseason due to an undisclosed injury. Gray has been healthy all season for Penn State, and she’ll undoubtedly be a key part of its success moving forward.

“We really missed [Gray] last year, so it helps a lot,” Rose said. “It really kind of limited a lot of what our offense was doing heading into the tournament [in 2018], but that’s part of sports. You can’t worry about the things you can’t control.”

Gray’s production has taken a major step forward since her freshman year. She currently ranks at second on the team with 279 kills, and Gray has increased her offensive output by 102 kills compared to this time last year. Although her 79 blocks rank below her 119 from 2018, 15 of hers in 2019 were solo blocks — up from nine in her freshman season.

“Having Serena available for this year’s tournament is really crucial because she’s a big part of our lineup,” sophomore outside hitter Jonni Parker said. “She [puts up] a lot of our points in the game, whether from defense or from getting kills on our side of the net.”

As with any elite program, expectations are high for Penn State women’s volleyball, which makes staying relaxed and having fun on and off the court all the more important.

“Our team, we have very good team chemistry, so it’s easier for us because we’re such good friends,” Blossom said. “In the locker room, we’re dancing and singing and having a good time before games — but then you definitely get focused and ready before the game.”

Focusing on building team chemistry is incredibly important for any team, but it’s especially significant for a team as young as Penn State’s. Fifteen of its 20 players are either freshmen or sophomores, and some players believe team bonding has made up for the Nittany Lions’ shortcomings in postseason experience.

“I think that we’ve kind of fallen into our own,” sophomore middle blocker Kaitlyn Hord said. “We’ve done a good job of meshing well as a team because most of us played together last year. And yeah, we’re young, but we’ve done a good job of keeping our heads and growing through the season with each other.”

Experienced or not, the Nittany Lions are prepared to take on this year’s tournament thanks to top-notch coaching and a healthy starting seven. The entire season has come down to this point, and Penn State is more than ready to compete with the best of the best.

“This is why you play college volleyball,” Blossom said. “This is what you dream of as a little kid.”