Spikers extend weekend, make pit stop in East Stroudsburg

The Penn State men's volleyball team is getting a four-day weekend. Before traveling to Friday's Golden Dome Classic in New Jersey, the No. 2 Nittany Lions have an 8 p.m. stop tonight in East Stroudsburg for an EIVA match with the Warriors.

"East Stroudsburg has lost some very good seniors. They have a lot of new players who are starting to regain some chemistry and personality," Pavlik said. "In the past they have shown they can play some very good volleyball."

The Warriors come into tonight's match with a 5-3 mark, 2-1 in EIVA. East Stroudsburg nearly pulled off an upset against Rutgers-Newark last weekend but lost in five games. East Stroudsburg coach Santiago Restrepo said he might use the same strategy against the Lions.

"I put a lot of freshmen in, and it seemed to work better. Hopefully, that might work against Penn State so we can be competitive," Restrepo said. "Most of our guys are playing at the collegiate level for the first time."

Kevin Killinger and Ed Lynch have been East Stroudsburg's main sources of offense. The two juniors have put away 107 and 86 kills, respectively, but as a team the Warriors struggle, hitting just 29 percent.

"In the past we've looked to maybe one or two players," Restrepo said. "Now, everyone has to help somehow."

Pavlik wants a very professional effort by his club. He said the more disciplined his team gets, the more goals it will accomplish.

"If we get a chance to score a point we've got to. We're starting to put more of an emphasis on scoring points," he said. "We don't want (East Stroudsburg) to get a chance to be in the match."

Pavlik added he was not surprised his club was not voted the No. 1 team in the nation even though the top two teams, Stanford and Brigham Young, both lost last week.

"It's nice to have something to talk about," Pavlik said. "I can't control the polls, so I don't worry about them."

Like many other of its opponents, East Stroudsburg is looking forward to matching up with the highly-touted Lions. With many freshmen seeing substantial playing time, Restrepo said he just wants them to gain valuable experience even though the outcome of the match might not be favorable.

"It's always exciting playing a team of that caliber," he said. "It's nice to compare yourself to one of the best teams in the country. Hopefully, they will get rid of the jitters fast."