Spikers swept by Waves

The Penn State men's volleyball team ended its preseason on a down note in Rochester N.Y., Saturday night, getting swept in three sets by Pepperdine, 15-7, 15-11, 15-12. The loss came in the final match of a four-team tournament over the weekend.

- Ivan Contreras, Penn State men's volleyball co-captain

Even though the Lions got their typically solid games from their co-captains, it was not enough to overcome a strong Pepperdine squad. The Waves were superior to the Lions in both blocking and power.

"We have never faced a team that hit the ball so hard," Contreras said. "We couldn't stop their point scoring."

Pepperdine did not overwhelm the Lions, Penn State coach Mark Pavlik said. The Waves just did a better job of sticking to their game plan. Pavlik explained that his players slipped into "micro-naps" during the match, something top teams simply cannot do.

"Right now, they are a little bit better," Pavlik said.

If Penn State hopes to capitalize on its chance for a national championship, it has to beat teams like Pepperdine.

"We saw a team that plays at a level that we'll have to play at come May," Pavlik said. "And now is a pretty good time to figure that out."

On Friday, the first day of the tournament, the Lions played Laval for the third time in this preseason. The Lions defeated them twice in Canada three weeks ago."We saw them before," Contreras said. "We did what we had to do."

The Lions made quick work of Laval this time around, taking the match in three sets, 15-3, 15-7, 15-12.

The Lions' first match Saturday came against fellow Big Ten member Ohio State. The Buckeyes are a big question mark this season. Their roster is filled with young players and their leader, Eduardo Marxuach, will be out of action until January.

Penn State defeated the inexperienced Buckeyes, 15-7, 15-12, 11-15, 15-12.Overall, Penn State performed well in its last preseason tournament. The Lions now have a good idea of where they stand and realize there are some things they have to work on.

Pavlik said he liked what setter Dan Pollock did with the offense and added that newcomer Tony Mazzullo is developing nicely, even though he struggled against Pepperdine.

"I'm pretty pleased," Pavlik said. "We learned a lot. We have to refine some things."

With its first match not until January's Nittany Lion Invitational, the team will have plenty of time to work on its weaknesses. Pavlik said the Lions will look at tapes of this weekend's matches and learn from their mistakes.

"This point of the year is a teaching and information-gathering time," he said.

With the preseason over, the information-gathering process also is over. Now, only time will tell if the Lions take advantage of it.

"We know what we need to do now to beat the high-caliber California teams," Pollock said. "Now we can focus on what we need to improve on."