Robbie McMaster; From Walk-on to Record Setting Libero

There have been many bold statements made in sports. Babe Ruth calling his home run, Joe Namath guaranteeing a Super Bowl win over Johnny Unitas and the Colts, and Robbie McMaster declaring he will win an AMCC title before he graduates. All three of these men’s bold claims turned out to be correct, and they successfully cemented their names in history. However, one of these three mens careers almost came to a close way earlier than he felt it should be. Robbie McMaster is who this statement is referring to, and this truly gritty labero for the Behrend Lions men’s volleyball team has never forgotten there are no guarantees in life.

“Coming out of high school, I had no offerers from college coaches to play college volleyball. I knew I had what it took, but no college coaches seemed to think so. I picked Penn State Behrend because of the plastics engineering technology program, but I knew I was not ready to give up athletics. After several emails to coach Phil Pisano, some encouragement to Phil from my close friend Lexi Irwin to give me a chance, and coach allowing me to come practice with the team, he decided to give me a shot. Fortunately for both of us, me playing for the team has worked out well for each of us.” McMaster does not lack confidence, and it is a good confidence. A true swagger and a belief in himself. Without it, we may not be reflecting on his career as Behrend Men’s Volleyball best libero in program history. Nobody believed in him more than himself, and it has put him in a great position both in athletics as well as in his career as an engineer.

McMaster is a 2015 graduate of Norwin Junior-Senior High School in North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. It was a school that has had great athletic success and allowed Rob to play against great competition all of his life. Competing in basketball, soccer, and volleyball at a large school like Norwin prepared him for the commitment that college has required of him. “I was a baseball player growing up.” McMaster said. “I began playing baseball when I was a toddler. Heading into high school, I decided to go out for volleyball. My dad was initially shocked at my decision to play volleyball in high school, but it did not take him long to realize I made the right decision.”At Norwin, Rob lettered twice in volleyball, and once in basketball and soccer. “Our school was super competitive. Nine of my closest friends are college athletes and two others certainly could have been. It was tough to get playing time, but it lit a fire under me and showed me nothing is guaranteed and nothing comes easy.” In high school volleyball, he helped lead Norwin to the WPIAL title game and also to a section championship in dramatic fashion. “We were losing to Penn-Trafford in the 4th set 2-1 and the set score was 21-10. Our coach called a time out and laid into us, He lit a fire, and we ended up coming back and winning the 4th set. We used the momentum and won the section title over our rivals. It was the best comeback I have ever been a part of.”

It was safe to say that McMaster was used to playing in big games, and it was experience from big time WPIAL games and travel volleyball games that prepared him for the college level. “The biggest goal I had coming into college volleyball was bringing a conference title back to Behrend. It was something that had never been done in program history, and last year we were able to do that. I knew last year we had a great chance to accomplish it when we beat Penn State Altoona who we historically had struggled with. I hope we can win another AMCC title this year to end on a positive note.” Penn State Behrend senior volleyball players Anthony Sprentz, Tyler Hermann, Joe Reynolds, and Rob McMaster have helped move this program in the right direction. “I am enjoying every moment with them.” McMaster said. All of us have had great success here and it has been awesome to play alongside them consistently for these last four years.”

While McMaster spoke about the impact his teammates have had on him and the program, he spoke about a few others who have been key in his life. He started by thanking his parents Dianne and James who have made countless games and watched on the live stream or stats when they could not always make it. James coached Robbie his entire life, and the tough love taught him how to compete and how to win. Additionally, Robbie spoke about how big of an influence Phil Pisano has had on his life in the sport of volleyball. “Phil knows the game of volleyball inside and out. He knows how to gameplan and he is amazing at in game adjustments. He always puts us in the right place to win.” Lastly, Robbie spoke about his gratitude for Coach Warden from his high school days. “Coach Warden taught me how to play the game of volleyball the right way. He was a tough love coach who held people accountable. He was honest with his team and pushed us to improve or continue the solid play.”

While Rob had hit the home stretch of his college career, he is still grateful for what is left in his athletic career at Behrend. The Lions are looking for back to back titles which would be a great accomplishment for a program that had not quite celebrated its 10th birthday yet. After college, McMaster will remain in Erie working for X-Cell Tool and Mold in Fairview where he will be a Process Engineer. The company is expanding and has added a recent addition to allow for much more machinery and production.

Through many ups and downs both in volleyball and a demanding major, Robbie McMaster will soon graduate from Penn State Behrend extremely prepared for a long career in engineering. However, he does not plan to give up volleyball entirely as he hopes to return to his alma mater to help the team and support the future teams. With his outstanding work ethic and never giving up on himself, Robbie has accomplished truly noteworthy feats including graduating with one of the toughest degrees Behrend has to offer while also setting the program record for digs and winning a conference title. By never giving up or selling himself short, McMaster was able to live out his dream as a college athlete and prove himself right that he had what it took to compete in college athletics.