The men's volleyball team earned two victories this weekend to extend its unbeaten record in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association to 5-0.

No. 5 Penn State (20-4) ended the weekend with yesterday's triumph over No. 18 Navy at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster. The scores from the sweep were 15-12, 15-12 and 15-10.

Saturday night, in a match that lasted over two and a half hours, the Lions disposed of No. 15 George Mason in four games: 15-10, 15-11, 11-15, 17-15.

"I think (these victories) firmly put us in first place (in the EIVA)," assistant coach Mark Pavlik said.

Yesterday's win was Penn State's third over the Midshipmen this season. On Feb. 20 in Annapolis, Navy won the first two games, before losing the final three and the match to Penn State.

Against the Midshipmen, outside hitters Charlie Bertran and Jorge Perez led the team in kills with 21 and 15, respectively. The duo also had team highs in digs -- Bertran had 10 and Perez added eight. Perez and middle blocker Ramon Hernandez notched five blocks. Middle blocker Winfield Evens chipped in four. Bertran was also credited with three service aces.

Pavlik admired the way the team played through fatigue to earn the win. The match was important to re-establish in the minds of the players that they are capable of overcoming adversity, he added.

Blocking was a major key to the Lions' victory.

"In practice, we have been trying to get more blocking schemes, and that worked well for us tonight," Pavlik said. "We took away their middle and forced them to go high and outside."

Penn State has won both regular-season contests with Navy and George Mason.

Victories over George Mason (14-10) are nothing new to the Lions. They have beat the Patriots four times this season. This match could possibly be a preview of the EIVA finals.

"It is tough to beat a good team like that five times in a row," setter Scott Miller said.

What was new for Penn State was the location of the match. Its last home match was on Feb. 13 in the Rec Hall's South Gym. For the first time this season, Penn State hosted a school in the Main Gym. However, the dormant crowd failed to give Penn State a great advantage.

"If we would have been playing big teams all season long and people would have known about our matches, we would have had a good crowd," Coach Tom Peterson said. "If we would have had a continuity going, it would have been a little bit better for the fans."

In the match against the Patriots, Bertran again led the team in kills and digs, registering 28 and 10, respectively. Middle blocker David Muir added 24 kills while Perez notched 22. Miller had seven digs. Hernandez led the team with six blocks and Bertran added five. Hernandez also was credited with three service aces.

In the fourth and final game Saturday night, George Mason had a 14-9 lead and a win would have sent the match to a rally game. However, Penn State buckled down, fought off fatigue, and withstood several game points. A Hernandez block closed the score to 11-14. A Miller kill, a Patriot error and a Muir kill tied the score at 14.

The Patriots once again pulled to game point after taking a 15-14 lead. George Mason, plagued by errors all night, hit long enabling Penn State to tie the score yet again. A Bertran kill gave the Lions their first lead since the 8-7 mark. With Muir serving, a Miller block gave Penn State the game and the win.

During the match, Peterson called a timeout with the Patriots leading 11-8. As the Penn State players walked over to the bench, Bertran rhetorically asked his teammates if the team should go five games with George Mason. Bertran then answered his own question with an inspired "No."

"We should have definitely won in three," Perez said. "We didn't play our best, but we could regroup at the end and pull it out. It's good for the team."

Penn State opened up the match by running up a 12-2 lead in the first game. The Patriots went on a seven-point run to close to 12-9. A Muir kill brought the Lions to game point. Penn State won the game, 15-10, on another Muir kill to culminate a rally in which Muir also chased a dig into the scorer's table.

"We played very, very well; some of the best volleyball I have seen us play for the first half of the first game," Coach Tom Peterson said. "Kind of as the match went on, we kind of got a little tired and a little sluggish."

In the second game, the Lions came out flat and the Patriots opened up a 8-1 lead. Evens replaced Muir with George Mason leading 11-6. The Patriots would score no more. With Evens in, Penn State went on a 9-0 run to win the game.

"We don't play as intense at the beginning of a game," Miller said. "Like, if (the score is) 3-3, we don't play like it's 10-10 or 11-11. I think we've got to play a whole game, and keep the same intensity throughout the whole game."

Penn State lost the third game 15-11. At one point, George Mason led 11-5.

"We let them get in the match by letting down in the start of the third game," Peterson said.

Penn State travels to Newark, N.J., on Wednesday to face another EIVA foe in No. 16 Rutgers-Newark. The Lions have already defeated Rutgers-Newark twice this season.

"If we can beat Rutgers, we will put ourselves in a real nice situation," Pavlik said.