COATESVILLE -- Up until 10 minutes before game time, everything seemed to be fine. The men's volleyball team, fresh off a two-win weekend tournament, looked to extend its winning streak over the Manitoba Bisons.

However, things would not be that simple. With the last-minute loss of senior right-side hitter David Muir due to a sore shoulder, Coach Tom Peterson was forced to field a juggled lineup.

Despite an easy first-game victory, the Muir-less Lions fell to the Bisons in four games, 15-4, 7-15, 12-15, 15-17. With the loss, the Lions fall to 5-6 on the season. Manitoba, the defending Canadian champions, improved its record to 5-4.

"The team did pretty well for what I asked them to do," Peterson said. "I did not know that David was not going to play until right before the game."

In the absence of Muir, Ramon Hernandez led the Lion offense, recording 17 kills. Ricky Roper, the Lions' improving junior outside hitter, added 16 kills and three blocks.

After falling behind in the fourth game, 6-4, the Lions regained their composure and rallied to a 13-8 lead. After Manitoba tied the game at 15, a Penn State illegal rotation gave the Bisons a one-point lead. On the ensuing lead, a Manitoba kill gave the Bisons the match.

Manitoba put a 15-4 loss in game one behind it, bouncing back with key blocking and timely kills to grab a 15-7 victory in the second game.

After scoring the game's first four points, the Lions' play became sloppy. Manitoba, capitalizing on several Penn State blocking errors, scored five consecutive points. Manitoba never relinquished the lead and Penn State could muster only three more points in the game.

"I think the biggest problem was that they blocked well in game one," Bison assistant coach Alfie Plactkis. "We were on the road all day and I think it took us the first game to get our legs back. After Penn State's weekend performance (at the Hall of Fame Classic) they looked pretty strong. The only disappointment was that David Muir did not play. It would have been nicer to beat Penn State with their best players on the court."

The Lions' sluggish play in the second game carried into game three, as the Canadian school jumped out to a 13-4 lead. But the Lions refused to quit. A powerful Brian Miller kill sparked Penn State, which tallied eight consecutive points to narrow the margin to 13-12.

However, following a Manitoba timeout, the Bisons returned to score the next two points, capturing the third game, 15-12.

"I think we played pretty well," said Assistant Coach Mark Pavlik. "We need someone to make a statement on offense and David (Muir) does that. We lost our poise a few times when some bad calls went against us. It was not only the players, but I found myself doing the same thing."

The Lions return home tomorrow to host second-ranked Pepperdine at 7:30 p.m. in Rec Hall. It will the Lions' second home game in two weeks against a Top 10 opponent. It is unknown whether Muir will be available.