Schnur has season of kills
ERIE — His season was coming along as planned — until there was no more season.
Butler graduate and Penn State Behrend sophomore middle hitter Cody Schnur accomplished plenty on the men's volleyball court regardless.
The 6-foot-4 Schnur led the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference in hitting percentage (.360) for the second consecutive season. His 119 kills rank third on the team.
Schnur made second team All-AMCC for his efforts. The Lions were 11-6 on the season — 4-1 in the AMCC — with 10 games remaining on the schedule when the NCAA ended its spring sports season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I felt like I had expanded my game,” Schnur said. “As a freshman, I was adjusting to the college game, the coaching, court time, chemistry as a team, all of that.
“It felt like we were hitting our stride when the season was stopped. That was tough. We believed we would have contended for the conference title. Now we won't have that opportunity.”
Behrend won its last three matches by 3-0 scores and had won five of its last six. The program is in its ninth year, all under coach Phil Pisano.
The Lions won the AMCC championship in 2018.
“We had five seniors this year, including the conference player of the year in Dillon Hildebrand,” Pisano said. “We had high hopes. Now Cody is one of the guys we're counting on to fill a bigger role next year.”
As a third-year starter, Schnur is considered one of the keys to the team's fortunes in 2021.
And he likes it that way.
“I'll be one of our most experienced players,” he said. “We have great relationships on this team. I respect them and they respect me. I feel like I'm in a position to help the younger players along now.”
Schnur plans to help his own game along the way.
“Cody has hit the weight room hard since he's been here. He's jumping higher and has become more dominant on the attack,” Pisano said. “He has good vision and is good at hitting the ball between the blockers.
“He also has the ability to put the ball in different locations and has a fast wrist snap to finish. Now I'm hoping he works on a more aggressive serve and improves in the blocking stage of his game.”
Schnur is on board with all of that.
“My serve is slower and I was working on picking up speed there before the season was stopped,” Schnur said. “I definitely need to get my blocks up.
“I want to be more than just an attacking player. I want to improve all sides of my game over the next two years.”
He wants to win a championship as well.
Men's volleyball has become one of the fastest growing sports in the NCAA. The AMCC champion will receive an automatic bid to the Division II national tournament next year.
“When we formed a team nine years ago, we were the 54th team in the country,” Pisano said. “There were 110 teams this year and there's a few more coming next year.”
“I definitely want that championship,” Schnur said. “I led the conference in hitting percentage my first two years. I'd like to do that for my last two years, too.”
