Spikers knock off ESU in four

EAST STROUDSBURG -- The Penn State men's volleyball team needed four games to put away pesky East Stroudsburg on the Warriors' home floor last night, winning 15-7, 15-2, 8-15 and 15-8.

Ivan Contreras led the Nittany Lions (11-1, 4-0 EIVA) in kills with 13 on just 14 attempts while Jason Kepner posted nine on only 10 attempts. East Stroudsburg (5-4, 3-2 EIVA) was paced by Kevin Killinger's match-high 17 kills.

Penn State's coach Mark Pavlik said the match was a quality dress rehearsal for the first team, but he wasn't so happy with the bench's effort in the third game.

"I'm really disappointed with how our guys played in that third game," Pavlik said. "These guys say they want to play."

The frustration on the faces of the Warriors was very evident early. The Lions won the first two games of the match in just 30 minutes. Penn State sent multiple attackers on every set and East Stroudsburg's blockers were quickly looking for answers. Warrior coach Santiago Restrepo said the errors of his young team were the reason for the loss.

"I think we're capable of playing better," Restrepo said. "We made too many mistakes and we're too timid on the attack."

The crowd in East Stroudsburg's Koehler Fieldhouse had a mix of Lions fans in attendance, but the hometown folks had little to cheer about since the Warriors did not enjoy a single lead until game three.

That third game saw the Lions fall behind early with the team's second unit in action. East Stroudsburg's newly inspired play nearly brought the crowd to its feet, forcing Pavlik to use both of his timeouts to regroup.

The stoppage of play was to no avail, however, as the Warriors went on to win the game, seemingly bringing themselves within striking distance of Penn State.

To start game four, Pavlik made a change with his court general, putting starter Dan Pollock back into the mix. The change quickly paid dividends as the Lions scored the first six points of the game and quickly took the crowd out of the match, sending the Warriors back on their heels.

"Dan (Pollock) did a nice job of settling the club down," Pavlik said.

But with the Lion lead reaching as much as ten in the fourth game, the blocking of Erich Bollman and hitting of Killinger brought East Stroudsburg back to a 12-7 score. The Warriors, however, would get no closer.

Pavlik expected nothing less from the crowd at East Stroudsburg. He said many times the opposition tries to get the crowd going against the Lions.

"This was a typical East Stroudsburg crowd," Pavlik said. "They like to let you know you're playing in their building."