The No. 5 men's volleyball team (25-4, 7-0 EIVA) put another dent in the armor of Western volleyball supremacy this weekend with a 15-8, 15-9, 9-15, 15-11 victory over No. 3 San Diego State in the finals of the Hall of Fame Classic in Springfield, Mass.

The Lions also defeated host Springfield College, a Division II school, in the semifinals, 15-7, 13-15, 15-3, 15-6. Penn State is now 12-0 against Springfield in the series' history.

Sophomore middle blocker David Muir, who had 17 kills in the San Diego State match, was named the MVP of the tournament. Senior outside hitter Charlie Bertran, who also had 17 kills in the finals, was named to the All-Tournament team.

"(Dave) played some nice defense and was hitting from the backrow really well," assistant coach Mark Pavlik said. "He deserved that MVP."

Senior outside hitter Jorge Perez added 18 kills and four blocks and freshman middle blocker Ramon Hernandez had five blocks in the championship match.

"We were definitely determined to beat those guys," senior setter Scott Miller said.

"We got real good efforts from everyone," Pavlik said. "It was a real good team victory."

In the first game, Penn State got a break of sorts in the first game when a couple of San Diego State players were injured. That led to a poor first game for the Aztecs, Miller said.

"After that we picked it up," he added.

And Miller helped by spreading the offense to both outside hitters after Muir began to dominate early.

"The unsung hero of the match was Scott Miller," Pavlik said. "(He) played a very, very sound match."

Pavlik added that the general team consensus was that the passing was not very strong last night, but the Lions made up for it in other aspects.

Depth was once again a factor in the match. Freshman outside hitter Ed Josefoski came into the second game for junior Tom Gingrich, and responded with a block straight off the bench. In addition, junior middle blocker Winfield Evens had two digs in crucial situations, Pavlik said.

"Winfield is a thinking man's middle blocker," he added.

In the Springfield match, Hernandez had 14 kills, 14 digs and six blocks while Bertran added 12 kills.

"Springfield is an up and coming program," Pavlik said. "They outworked us in the second game."

The win over the Aztecs was the Lions' third this season over a Top 5 team. They defeated then-No. 3 UCLA twice in three days earlier this season.

The Lions lost a heartbreaker to San Diego State on the Aztecs' home floor on Mar. 4, 15-5, 15-13, 9-15, 14-16, 11-15. In that match, Bertran and Perez each had 26 kills for Penn State. Hernandez and Muir had 17 and 16 kills, respectively.

"They don't like to lose," Pavlik said of the Lions. "They had something to prove to San Diego State."

Penn State will complete the regular season on April 16 when it hosts Rutgers-Newark. The Lions have clinched the No. 1 seed at the EIVA championships at Rutgers-Newark on March 26-27.

"This (win) will definitely be an incentive to get out to Hawaii," Miller said. "We can play with those western teams."

"We are a team that cannot be overlooked," Pavlik added.