Spikers lack fire in wins

If it's true that dogs can smell fear, they would have been greeted by a strong odor in Rec Hall Saturday night.

The No. 4 Penn State men's volleyball team (7-1) dropped the first two games in its match against Rutgers-Newark (3-7) and quickly fell behind, 6-2, in game three.

The situation looked rather bleak. Fans were drifting out of the gym as the Nittany Lions made three hitting errors in the opening moments of the game and a frustrated Sergio Pampena received a red card for questioning a call.

Lion coach Mark Pavlik called timeout, which proved to be the turning point. Pavlik reminded his players to stay focused and realize one play would not determine the outcome of the match.

"We were really in danger in that third game," Pavlik said. "Then all of sudden we started to play with poise, and things started to happen on our side."

After the timeout, the Lions looked like a different team. Ivan Contreras picked up eight of his 32 kills, leading Penn State on an 11-point run. The momentum shift proved to be a demoralizing blow to Rutgers-Newark.

Perhaps the biggest factor in the decline of the Raiders' play was the disappearance of Steven George after the crucial game three timeout.

Before the timeout, George was a major offensive factor, picking up 13 kills. But after the break he was quiet, picking up only six more during the remainder of the match. The rest of the team followed suit, as the Raiders' play seemed uninspired the rest of the match.

"Mentally we weren't as sharp as we could be," Raider coach Ron Larsen said. "They settled down, and we got away from our game plan, which allowed them to get back into the game."

The Lions carried the momentum through the final two games and pulled out a five-set victory, 10-15, 13-15, 15-7,15-8, 15-11.

"We took these guys a little too lightly, and they played much better than expected," Lion Jason Kepner said. "We were lucky to come out of here with a win."

If the Lion victory Saturday was the result of luck, it must have been left over from their match against Juniata (6-2) Friday night.

Juniata entered the match looking for the upset, and it almost pulled it out. The Eagles started the game on fire, bringing the Lions to match point in game one.

But much like the match against Rutgers-Newark, the Lions called a timeout and came out looking like a different team. Penn State tightened up on defense and put the ball away on offense. The Lions scored seven consecutive points to win the match.

"We took it to a level were we refused to lose, and I think Juniata was waiting to win instead of expecting to win," Pavlik said.

Juniata played well in game two and beat Penn State's bench in game three, but the Lions proved to be too strong, taking the match in four games, 16-14, 15-13, 8-15, 15-8.

Penn State put together a balanced attack, with four starters reaching double digits in kills. Jason Kepner led the team with 17 kills and Tony Mazzullo added 12 digs to the Lions' effort. Juniata's Chris Fazio was a one-man show, posting a match-high 27 kills.

Despite the loss, the Eagles left feeling good about the way they played.

"I'm pretty proud of our guys," Juniata coach Ryan Patton said. "I don't care who is on the other side of the net, we can win these matches."

The Lions played well enough to win, but their play was not up to their typical standard. The team still feels good about its performance in Hawaii, but it could be a long season if every weekend is like this past one.

"Hawaii is over with," Pavlik said. "We've got a schedule ahead of us where we've got a giant bull's eye on our chest."