Following a grueling 420-day offseason, Penn State women’s volleyball returned to the court this weekend for a two-match series with Illinois.

The short-handed No. 9 Nittany Lions made the most of a difficult situation and wound up sweeping their series against the Illini. Penn State kicked the rust off in a 3-1 win to open the season and battled back in epic fashion to close the series out with a 3-2 victory.

Although Penn State is a looooong way away from the NCAA Tournament, we learned a lot from the team’s first two matches. Here are just a few of our key takeaways so far.

Annie Cate Fitzpatrick Is The Real Deal

Perhaps the brightest spot for Penn State this weekend was Annie Cate Fitzpatrick’s breakout debut.

The freshman outside hitter started in her first-ever match for the Nittany Lions and paced the team with 13 kills and nine digs. The next night, Fitzpatrick posted her first-ever double-double with 17 kills and 17 digs.

Junior right side Jonni Parker said she certainly isn’t surprised how Fitzpatrick’s performed so early in her career.

“Coming in as a freshman, I thought she did well on the floor and showed what she could do well,” Parker said following Penn State’s opening match. “She mixed it up with her shots on the floor, stayed aggressive with her swings, and was all over the place in the back row trying to make some plays. I was really proud of what she did tonight.”

Head coach Russ Rose routinely commended Fitzpatrick for her strong debut. Still, he believes she’s got room to grow.

“She’ll learn. She’s always going to be an undersized outside hitter, so she’s going to play hard,” Rose said. “That’s one of the things she does. She likes to take big swings. She just has to learn to take smart swings when she’s playing against a big block and she’s out of system.”

Penn State’s Depth Is Legit

The Nittany Lions were without five players throughout their series against the Illini this weekend. Namely, starting setter Gabby Blossom and defensive specialist Jenna Hampton didn’t dress.

In their absence, younger talents like Emily Oerther and Maddy Bilinovic got chances to start. Alongside newcomers like Anastasiya Kudryashova, they made the most of that opportunity by powering Penn State’s back row.

In two starts, Bilinovic racked up 32 digs and seven assists, while Oerther tallied 82 assists, 20 digs, and six kills — a particularly impressive feat for the 5’10” setter. Bilinovic turned heads with an impressive dig…using her foot!

“She dug it with her foot!”@mbilinovic with a kick save (and an assist later)#WeAre | #NCAAVB pic.twitter.com/UU7DIpQDt4

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) February 6, 2021

Following the series, Fitzpatrick commended Bilinovic for making an immediate impact in her first weekend at Rec Hall.

“Maddy’s just everywhere all the time. She’s great defensively and she is so loud, which helps the team so much because it’s so great to have a loud person who’s all up in the your face on the court,” Fitzpatrick said. “She’s just super into the game and she brings a ton of energy onto the court, which we really need, especially in those fifth-set matches.”

With just two matches under its belt, Penn State’s sample size is small. But the Nittany Lions’ depth is clear, and getting back to full strength will only make the team a tougher competitor in college volleyball’s most rigorous conference.

A Big Ten Schedule Won’t Be A Cakewalk

Speaking of that oh-so tough conference, the Big Ten is flexing its muscles already this season.

Headlined by stalwarts like No. 1 Wisconsin (6-0) and No. 4 Nebraska (4-0), the conference is already proving to be as competitive as ever just a few weeks into the season. Despite emerging from a series with Illinois unscathed, Penn State certainly has its work cut out for it.

The Nittany Lions will travel to face No. 6 Minnesota (6-0) this week in a two-match series. Although the middle of its schedule includes tamer matchups against teams like Indiana, Maryland, and Rutgers, Penn State’s season will be capped off by series against the Badgers and Cornhuskers.

Penn State clearly struggled at times against Illinois — a team that’s by no means a pushover. But if the Nittany Lions aim to contend for a title, they’ll need to make the most of their rigorous schedule and stay competitive against the conference’s (and NCAA’s) best.

Penn State’s Serve Receive Needs Work

Woof. Against Illinois, Penn State struggled heavily when receiving serves. That wasn’t more apparent than when the Nittany Lions botched a serve receive while tied 25-25 in Saturday night’s second set (Illinois later went on to win that frame 29-27).

The Illini racked up 14 services aces in two matches against the Nittany Lions. Additionally, Penn State committed 14 service reception errors of its own. Overall, Rose thought his team’s serving game was “really sloppy.”

Again, Penn State wasn’t at full strength this weekend, which makes it tough to judge any of its attributes so early in the season. Once Blossom, Hampton, and crew return to the fold, serving and receiving must be a focus moving forward.

Russ Rose…Still The GOAT!

If you weren’t already sold on Rose’s legendary career, a new milestone this weekend only strengthened his resume.

Rose crossed 1,300 all-time wins Friday, becoming the first NCAA Division I coach to amass that many victories.

Additionally, he’s brought Penn State to every NCAA Tournament, captured seven national titles, and never won fewer than 24 matches in a season throughout his career with the Nittany Lions.

Despite the achievement, the traditionally humble coach didn’t have much to say about his latest milestone.

“I didn’t think about it during the day, and I’m not thinking about it now,” Rose said after the match. “I’m pleased that we won, but it’s just a match.”

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Penn State will return to the court Saturday night on the road against No. 6 Minnesota. First serve is set for 8 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.