After spending a week-and-a-half on suspension, three-time All-American Chris Chase will accompany the team to Buffalo, N.Y., this weekend to battle the Puerto Rican National Team.

The match against the Puerto Rican team, scheduled for Sunday, will indicate how much it has improved. Penn State faced the Puerto Rican team over Thanksgiving break, losing three of four matches.

"They have a lot of veterans on their team," co-captain John Wasielewski said. "They have a lot of experienced players. They're very consistent, an all-around solid team."

The team has undergone a bundle of changes since their last meeting with the Puerto Rican team. Last week, Chase and co-captain Robert Pierce were placed on administrative suspension for violation of an unspecified team policy. Sophomore Charlie Bertran remains sidelined with a strained quad muscle in his leg. Taking up some slack are freshmen Tom Gingrich, Winfield Evens and sophomore Jorge Perez. And although Chase is back, he hasn't practiced for almost two weeks.

"As the season progresses, each team gets better," Coach Tom Peterson said. "Because of our situation with the new lineups, we haven't had the chance to work consistently with the same people."

Even though the odds are heavily stacked against the Lions, they do have some things in their favor.

"Buffalo will be like a home crowd," junior Guillo Silva said. "(The Puerto Rican team) will be tired since they're not used to travelling. Our practices have been really hard and intense. If we pass, we win. If not, we lose."

"We have to pass better," Peterson agreed. "And that's a more individual skill so our guys are spending more individual time and making more commitments."

"The team is becoming very cohesive," Wasielewski said.