Spikers unveil new lineup in victory

By SCOTT GLASSMAN
Collegian Sports Writer

Spirits were high once again for the No. 7 men's volleyball team (15-3, 2-0) as it got to notch an EIVA victory last night, playing for the first time in the main gym of Rec Hall since Feb. 11.

Penn State stayed sharp throughout the match and downed Juniata (10-16, 1-4) in three games (15-7, 15-10, 15-1).

Lion Coach Mark Pavlik was pleased to see his players stick to the game plan and not slack off.

"We wanted to come out strong with our service," Pavlik said. "That would force them into offensive sets that our blockers were prepared for."

And once again, senior middle blocker Kevin Hourican came up strong in the trenches and behind key blocks, neutralized the Eagles' top offensive weapon, Chris Fazio. Fazio was held to a .000 hitting percentage with seven errors in seven kills.

"We knew we outsized them," Pavlik said. "And for the most part, we got our hands on everything."

On the other side of the court it was a different story, as junior outside hitter Jason Kepner led the team with eleven kills and junior middle blocker Adam Fernsler assisted on five blocks.

"This was a game where we concentrated more on our side of the court more than the outcome of the game," Kepner said. "We wanted to work on our offense and perfect our skills from practice."

Likewise for Pavlik, it was very important that his team not just win the match, but improve as well. And while he commended the team for doing just that, Pavlik also was able to break in a new secret weapon for the upcoming postseason.

"The teams in the championships have 6-7 and 6-8 hitters," Pavlik said, emphasizing the obvious height mismatches it would cause with the Lions' 6-foot-4 and 6-foot-5 hitters.

Enter the second lineup in last night's match. Beefing up the interior by inserting the 6-foot-8 Fernsler into Ivan Contreras' middle blocking position, Pavlik was able to shift the powerful Contreras to outside hitter.

The new lineup will be one that Pavlik will work with extensively over the next couple of weeks.

"It's a wrinkle that none of the big teams have seen yet," he said.