Spikers drop ball against Cardinals

Since its poor performance in the Outrigger Hotels Invitation in late January, the Penn State men's volleyball team looked to its match against Ball State Saturday night as a chance to regain respectability in the nation's eye and in its eye.

Now, they will have to look even further.

The Lions started slowly and could not come back as they lost to the Cardinals in straight sets (15-10, 15-10, 15-12). The loss drops the Lions to 5-4 on the young season.

"There were times when we played very well but that certainly wasn't sustained," Lion coach Mark Pavlik said. "We gave them some easy points."

No. 12 Penn State fell behind in a big way in every set, forcing the Lions to play catch-up throughout the whole match. Junior co-captain Ivan Contreras helped the Lions mount a comeback effort, but the Lions could not overtake Ball State.

"We realized that we are not the team that we thought we were," Contreras said. "We have to work a lot harder to get to where we want to be."

Contreras led the Lions with 18 kills, while senior outside hitter Jason Kepner added 14 kills and 11 digs. Justin Otto held his own in the always-changing setter position, with the freshman racking up 47 assists and eight digs.

The No. 9 Cardinals used big offensive and defensive plays to open leads in the beginning of the sets. Ball State was able to distance itself early and used timely kills, mostly from sophomore outside attacker Jason Fehr, to hold off any Penn State comeback.

"We just seemed to be able to get the kind of points when we needed," Ball State coach Don Shondell said. "I thought all three game were tough games. We just managed to get some runs at points at the end of those games."

Setter Eduardo Ferraz had six kills, five digs, and five blocks. Middle attackers Phil Eatherton and David Bik led the defensive effort with a combined 11 blocks and seven digs. But the real star was Fehr, who came up clutch in two of the three sets by slamming two of his team-leading 18 kills to fight off a Penn State run.

"He's been in kind of his own doghouse," Shondell said of his Canadian star who's in his first year with the Cardinals. "He's going to be a great player once he gets experienced."

The Lions will now prepare for a Valentine's Day battle with East Stroudsburg on Wednesday at Rec Hall. Pavlik feels the youth of the team and its skill will form a winning solution.

"We're going to get better as the year goes on," Pavlik said. "There's no doubt in my mind."