While a group of powerful outside hitters finish the plays with intimidating kills, the men's volleyball team's offense filters through its smallest player -- 5'10" setter Jim Schall.

"He makes up for it (size) with his mind," Coach Tom Peterson said. "He won't quit, he's a winner."

One sequence at the Mizuno/Nittany Lion Invitational highlighted Schall's role. Penn State faced five consecutive game points in the first game of the championship match against Ball State. Although the Lions lost the game, 15-13, and eventually the championship to Ball State, each play had a similar pattern -- Schall setting the ball for emphatic and uncontested kills by Guillo Silva, Charlie Bertran and Jorge Perez.

"The setter has to be the leader on the court," tournament MVP and Ball State setter Chris Cooper said. "He's like a quarterback in football. He's calling all the plays and setting up the offense. He's supposed to keep a little bit of control on the court."

The difference between Schall and the hitters is the stoic expression on Schall's face, regardless of the previous play's result.

Amid the excitement of the fifth and deciding game in Saturday's semifinal against George Mason, Schall calmly glanced over the Patriots' blockers, called the plays and set up Silva for the last two points of the match.

"Everyone's looking at me for the plays every time," Schall said. "So if I'm rowdy and hyped up, then that's the way they are going to act, too."

Even when he flipped the ball away in frustration after his poor set caused Tito Nunez to hit into the net against Ball State, he quickly regained composure. The next play he casually dumped the ball for a kill.

Part of being a good setter is knowing who to go to in key situations and where the hitter likes the ball. In the crucial situations, Schall would find a way to get the big hitters the ball -- often backsetting to a circling Silva for the kill.

"He knows what the hitter likes to hit and he makes sure we hit those balls," Bertran said. "And in the crunch moment he knows who to go to."

Schall, a sophomore, took the starting job when Scott Miller was injured in last year's EIVA semifinal and led Penn State to the championship.

The benefits of having two high caliber setters pushing each other to improve every day in practice are already evident.

"I think the biggest thing in Jim's favor, believe it or not, is Scott Miller," assistant coach Mark Pavlik said. "Scooter (Miller) is pushing him as hard as Jim pushes Scooter. Whether it's Jim starting or Scooter starting, the battles they have to go to get on the court prepare them very well."

This hard work in practice is intrinsic for the teamwork and timing to be on a high enough level for the team to play well. When the passes were on target, the timing between Schall and the hitters seemed in perfect rhythm.

"If we get some good passing, we can work with the combination plays -- outside, short," Silva said. "If we get bad passes all we can do is the long ball to the outside where the blockers are ready."

The primary drawback of Schall's height is that he isn't much of a blocker. However, he is a good defensive player. Against Ball State, he led the team with 14 digs to make up for the absence of any blocks.

"Setting is the main thing, but I can also add some defense," Schall said. "(I) just try to control the attitude of the team."