The men's volleyball team is slowly increasing the size of its domain, adding Canada to its already large list of conquered territory.

After establishing itself as a nationwide powerhouse with wins over top schools from the western and midwestern United States, No. 3 Penn State traveled north of the border this weekend for the ASICS Cup Tournament in Manitoba, Canada. And for the third-straight week, the Lions walked away with a tournament championship.

After winning their first two matches against Winnipeg and British Columbia, the Lions were guaranteed a spot in the championship match. With this knowledge, the team did not view its Saturday night match against Manitoba as one in which it had to play its hardest.

"We didn't play too well," Coach Tom Peterson said. "The starters did not come out too strongly, so we played most of the subs. We were already assured a berth in the finals, so we saw it as a good opportunity to get the other guys some playing time."

The No. 3 Lions lost to Manitoba (No. 2 in the Canadian poll) in four games, but exacted their revenge yesterday in the championship match, sweeping the Bison, 15-11, 15-8, 17-15.

"(The championship match) was a really good match," Peterson said. "We were down 14-11 in game three, and we came back with some real critical plays. We stuffed their premier player three times in a row, so I'd have to say that our blocking was a definite key for us."

The Lions (7-1) closest win of the weekend was the sweep of British Columbia, 17-16, 16-14, 15-11.

"British Columbia is No. 3 in Canada, so we knew coming in that they were all going to be close games," Peterson said. "We came back at the crucial times in the tough games. They are a more diversified team than we are, but we are better overall."

At one point against British Columbia, the Lions were served with a red card for "excessive celebration" after winning a point.

"We were celebrating and the refs gave us a red card for what they called 'rude behavior,' " Peterson said. "We were yelling and waving our arms -- like we do all the time --but the refs called us on it. We have to learn to control our emotions and channel them the right way."

The Lions first win of the tournament came Friday night when they swept past Winnipeg (No. 8 in the Canadian polls), 15-8, 15-10, 17-16.