Rebounding from defeat is never easy. Rebounding against the seventh-ranked team in the nation is even harder.

In hopes of erasing Thursday's heart-breaking five-game loss to Rutgers-Newark, the men's volleyball team took the floor against Indiana-Purdue at Fort Wayne in the first day of the Ball State Invitational on Friday night.

Despite 22 kills, eight blocks and seven digs from Ramon Hernandez, the Lions fell to IPFW in four games, 15-11, 15-10, 14-16, 15-10. Rightside hitter David Muir, who sat out the majority of the Rutgers match, returned to the starting six with 21 kills.

However, on Saturday night, the Lions regained their composure. Defeating Ball State in five games (15-6, 9-15, 9-15, 15-17, 15-12), Penn State ended its two-match losing streak. Gaining the weekend split, the 12th-ranked Lions improved their record to 13-11.

"It was a good game," Hernandez said. "They (Ball State) have improved 100 percent since the first time we played them. They are a decent team."

As it plagued the Lions in the first half of the season, ball control was Penn State's nemesis against IPFW.

"We were right in the match if we just had the ball control," said Coach Tom Peterson.

Similar to the IPFW match, middle blocker Hernandez went wild against the Volleycards. In five games, the Puerto Rico native collected 22 kills, 13 digs, five service aces and four blocks. Muir added 24 kills and 14 digs.

Tonight, Penn State continues its four-game roadtrip with a stop in East Stroudsburg. It will be the second meeting between the Lions and the Warriors. In an early March meeting in Rec Hall, the Lions dominated the smaller and error-prone Warriors, sweeping the match in three quick games, 15-5, 15-7, 15-4.

Returning three starters from last year's 14-17 squad, the Warriors are led by seniors Ev Nicholas and Eduardo Colon and junior Pat Sneft. In the last loss to Penn State, the 6-foot-3-inch Colon led the Warriors with eight kills and five digs.

Tomorrow, in what could be the match of the year thus far, the Lions conclude their road trip with a rematch against Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association frontrunner Rutgers-Newark. While tyring not to overlook the Warriors, Hernandez admits that the Rutgers-Newark match is the focus of the trip.

"Everybody is focusing on Tuesday," Hernandez said. "I think it will be the most important match of the season for us."