In basketball, a “brick” is typically not a good thing.
But for Meaghan Volek and the Penn State New Kensington women’s basketball team, they’re hoping to pile them up.
“Our slogan for our program is that we’re building brick by brick,” said Volek, a Kittanning grad who coached at Burrell. “We feel like we started that process during the season last year.”
The 2020-21 season was scheduled to be Volek’s first with the program. But covid-19 shut down fall and winter athletics for all of Penn State’s branch campuses.
“We were able to practice last year in a limited capacity, with small-group work,” Volek said. “It was very challenging, athletically and academically. But, in many ways, it was able to help us build as a team.
“We were able to really work on a lot of skills, a lot of foundations. We’re very happy with the progress we were able to make.”
Volek’s task of constructing a program — let alone a successful one — is tall. Penn State New Kensington re-established a women’s basketball program during the 2018-19 season.
That year, it played just eight games, all losses to other teams in the PSUAC. The following year, the team went 2-22, with a 1-16 mark in conference play.
The Lions played only 32 games in the first three years of the programs reemergence.
“The biggest challenge is trying to get all of the players to stay focused on the process,” Volek said. “We believe in the process 100%. That’s been our biggest commitment to one another.”
Penn State New Kensington has just nine players on its roster. Only seven played in a 72-20 season opening loss to Carlow and one more took the floor in an 84-30 loss to Central Penn on Nov. 13.
“We’ve had a strong, committed core,” Volek added. “We’re getting players to come out from campus. That’s really important to us. The biggest challenge is to continue build a roster.”
On the court, the Lions look to senior guard Ryleigh Beck (Saegertown, Pa.) for leadership.
“She will graduate at the end of the year,” Volek said. “She’s been a starter my entire time here. She’s a big role player, a senior leader for us. She does everything, on and off the court, for us.”
Penn Hills grad Deshaya Chavis, a junior point guard, led the team with 14 total points over the first two games.
“She gets us going, every single day,” Volek added. “She’s looking to facilitate on the court for us and get other players involved.”
Shaylynne Boitnott, a senior from Meadville, is the team’s primary post threat.
With such a small roster and a tough path in building a program, Volek knows that a feeling of togetherness within the team is key.
“We want to play as one,” she said. “Our campus slogan has always been to ‘Roar as One.’ We try to emphasize that in everything we do.”