It took the men's volleyball team four games and well over two hours to win its final match over No. 9 Ball State to win the Nittany Lion Invitational on Saturday night, 12-15, 15-8, 15-6, 16-14.

The entire match was a defensive struggle for the No. 10 Lions, particularly the fourth, and final, game. Only twice did Penn State servers score over one point before Ball State got a side out.

"Being able to win our tournament playing the way we are right now is great," outside hitter Aaron Zoerner said. "We are only going to get better."

Penn State raised its record to 6-1, the only blemish being last week's setback to No. 1 USC.

Outside hitter Jorge Perez was named tournament MVP. Outside hitter Tom Gingrich and setter Scott Miller were also named to the All-Tournament team.

Perez led the team in kills notching 74 in the weekend, including 26 Friday against Ball State. Outside hitter Charlie Bertran added 72 and middle blocker Ramon Hernandez chipped in 50. Perez also had six service aces throughout the weekend.

Gingrich dismissed the tournament victory as being crucial for future success.

"Right now, it's academic," Gingrich said. "It's kind of like the basketball season. If you make it to the NCAA Tournament, it doesn't matter how you did the rest of the season."

The action started Friday afternoon with pool play. Penn State opened with a sweep against No. 16 Rutgers-Newark, 17-15, 15-10, 15-9. The games were marked by defense and Rutgers substitutions.

"Rutgers didn't run a fancy offense, but they play pretty scrappy and they hung with us," Coach Tom Peterson said. "We didn't outscrap Rutgers a whole bunch."

Friday night, Penn State squared off against Ball State. The Lions exhibited a lot more intensity in the first game but nonetheless fell 8-15. They rebounded to win the next three, 15-4, 15-10, 15-10, and advance.

Penn State started slowly throughout the weekend, losing the first game in both Ball State matches.

"We have got to improve on that or else it's going to come back and hurt us," Gingrich said.

"They were using their height pretty well in the first game," Peterson said. "And then we were using our quickness and combination plays and real good offense to counteract in the last games."

Penn State started with Jim Schall as setter, but he was replaced by Miller near the end of the first game. Schall never returned that evening.

"I don't have the philosophy of alternating setters. That doesn't really help a whole bunch," Peterson said. "But, they are so close. Each one adds some little bit different strengths."

Middle blocker David Muir was replaced in the second game by Zoerner. Peterson said that he wanted to show Ball State a new look, and also that Zoerner merited playing time.

"I was expecting to play," Zoerner said. "I played more than I thought I would. I did what I wanted to do out there, I think I could have done better."

During the Ball State game, Bertran was awarded two yellow cards. Depending on the referee, yellow cards can mean a terrible infraction by the recipient, Peterson said, but these were handed out mainly to settle down the players.

Penn State went on to face No. 17 George Mason in the semifinals. The Lions won in four sets, 15-13, 5-15, 15-1, 15-10. Game three saw Muir serving 12 consecutive points including one service ace. The string withstood two Mason timeouts.

"Isn't there a rule modification so we can stay on that side?" assistant coach Mark Pavlik joked to the referee.

Ball State defeated No. 12 Indiana-Purdue at Fort Wayne in five games in the other semifinal to set up the rematch with Penn State in the finals. The scores from that marathon were 6-15, 15-11, 13-15, 15-6, and 15-13.

In the consolation match for third place, George Mason swept IPFW, 15-6, 15-10, 15-6. Rutgers-Newark earned fifth place by edging past No. 14 and still winless BYU, 7-15, 8-15, 15-9, 15-9, 15-9.