For George Mason Coach Ron Shayka, it was a homecoming. For his Patriots men's volleyball team, it was a victory over a Penn State squad it had not beaten in three years.

Shayka, a Penn State alumnus and a former teammate of Penn State Assistant Coach Mark Pavlik, led his George Mason squad to a four-game victory (8-15, 14-16, 15-12, 15-10) over Penn State in the consolation game of the Mizuno-Nittany Lion Invitational Saturday.

"It was one of the biggest wins for George Mason University," Shayka said. "It has been two or three years since we have beaten this team, and being a former player and alumnus, it is that much better."

After opening the tournament with wins over Ohio State and Ball State on Friday, it seemed as if Penn State was on the road to the championship game.

However, the Nittany Lions failed to win again. Falling to Indiana-Purdue at Fort Wayne in the semifinals (16-17, 12-15, 15-13, 10-15) and George Mason in the consolation match, the Lions could manage no better than a fourth-place finish.

Rutgers-Newark captured the tournament championship, defeating IPFW in the final match (15-13, 15-13, 15-13). Rutgers' junior outside hitter Jeff Wentworth earned MVP honors. Rightside hitter David Muir was the sole Lion on the All-Tournament squad. Muir finished with 99 kills in the Lions' four games.

"I think the difference between Friday and Saturday was a matter of parity," Pavlik said. "On Friday, it was a matter of us getting a few close points while on Saturday, it was a matter of us losing some close points."

Muir led the Lions on Friday, collecting 29 kills against Ohio State and 17 against Ball State. Ramon Hernandez totaled a .553 hitting percentage in the Ohio State match.

After finishing 2-0 in pool play, the Lions met a talented IPFW squad. Led by setter Lloy Ball, IPFW jumped out to a two-game lead. Sophomore swing hitter Norman Almodovar collected 20 kills. Placing two blockers on Penn State's attacks, IPFW kept Muir under control.

"I thought our blocking was really strong," said IPFW Coach Arnie Ball. "Our short serving really worked well. We have to play Penn State next week, and it should be a great game."

Despite the fourth-place finish, the Penn State squad remained optimistic.

"The attitude is very healthy," Pavlik said. "They know that they have to make some adjustments from last year. They want to be patient. We pulled together and the support was there. That is going to pay off for this team and this team is going to get better."

After three days of practice, the Lions hit the road for the season's first road trip. On Thursday, the Lions meet Ohio State in Columbus. On Friday and Saturday, Penn State will be one of four teams in the IPFW Invitational. Ohio State, IPFW and Southern Cal round out the tournament's field.