The men's volleyball team broke a four-game losing streak Saturday night, defeating Ohio State to finish third at the Golden Dome Classic at Rutgers-Newark.

The host Raiders defeated Indiana-Purdue at Fort Wayne later Saturday evening to win the tournament.

Penn State's continued early-season inconsistency cost it a shot at the tournament championship. The Lions (7-5) lost to IPFW in Friday's semifinal match, 15-10, 15-8, 13-15, 10-15, 10-15.

Penn State had won the previous two meetings with IPFW this season.

"It was pretty frustrating," Coach Tom Peterson said. "It's a team we should beat, even though it's tough to beat a team three in a row. We're a team of emotion too much right now. We're learning that if we want to be a real good team we have to be stable."

"We played really well, but on the critical points we didn't win them," assistant coach Bob Titzer said. "If we can keep our heads in the game the whole match, we should do very well against any team that we face."

Guillo Silva led the Lions against the Volleydons with a season-high 34 kills and Charlie Bertran added 19 kills and a team-high 14 digs. Middle blockers Todd Shirley (13 kills, eight blocks) and Kevin Mosbacher (11 kills, four blocks) also played well.

"It wasn't so much that we fell apart," assistant coach Mark Pavlik said. "IPFW started to play real well. They started running middle, their passing got better and we just couldn't stop their middle attack. They grabbed the momentum and they wouldn't let go of it."

The Lions' blocking, which had been strong in the first three games against the Volleydons, fell apart in the final two. Penn State totaled 19 blocks in the first three games, but just four in the last two.

"That tells the story," Pavlik said. "I just think IPFW did some things that made it tougher for us to get into their offensive rhythm with our blocking."

Penn State easily swept past Ohio State in the consolation match Saturday, 15-13, 15-6, 15-11. Bertran had 13 kills in the match while Silva compiled 12 kills and eight digs. Winfield Evens had a team-high five blocks and co-captain John Wasielewski chipped in three service aces, as Penn State used most of its roster.

"Ohio State is struggling at the moment, but we didn't let them dictate to us the level of play," Pavlik said. "(The players) went out there and they did the job, and that's a real important factor right now."

"I thought we played with pretty good intensity the whole time," Peterson said. "We could have come out flat, but I thought we did an OK job as far as keeping each other up."

The Lions will need to continue playing consistently as they did against Ohio State. Penn State begins its EIVA schedule with a home match Wednesday against arch-rival George Mason. That contest starts a streak of six matches in eight days for the Lions.

"We were more consistent (and we) played on an even keel," Titzer said. "But we need a big win against Mason Wednesday."