Spikers extend winning streak to 11 against Royals

Yogi Berra once said, "It's ain't over 'till it's over." It's a good bet he wasn't talking about last night's men's volleyball match between No. 2 Penn State (16-1, EIVA 5-0) and Eastern Mennonite (5-12, EIVA 0-5) at Harrisonburg, Va.

The Royals conceded the match to the nationally ranked Nittany Lions before they even took the court. Penn State easily defeated Eastern Mennonite in three sets, 15-8, 15-4, 15-4.

Prior to the game, Royal coach Sandra Browncombe had just one goal -- play a respectable game.

"We just want to make it a good match," Browncombe said, "and make the match last as long as we can."

Despite a strong effort, the Royals could not compete with the Lions. Eastern Mennonite could only hold out for 75 minutes, as Penn State proved to be far too powerful and talented.

The Lions went to Virginia with the victory assured. It was just a matter of how quickly they got the job done.

"We came down here pretty business like," Lion coach Mark Pavlik said. "We took a 9-1 lead in the first game, and then put it on cruise control."

Penn State has been living up to their high expectations so far, with the only concern being the recent lackluster play of its bench. But Lion fans should be comforted after the second string's performance against the Royals.

"They played awfully well," Pavlik said. "They worked hard this week. They were a little upset with themselves after the weekend."

The second team had reason to be upset after their game against LIU-Southampton Saturday. They came in against a struggling Colonial squad, but still dropped the third game of that match 10-15.

There was no need for the starters to return to the court tonight, as the second team came in and shut down Eastern Mennonite in the last two games. Second stringers Damian Martorana and Scott Lapp both had big nights for the Lions.

Martorana led the Lions with a career-high 11 kills, while Lapp posted nine and added three aces to the Penn State effort.

"They played as they are capable of playing," Pavlik said. "They know they'll get better if they keep working and that things will happen for them."

The Lions have extended their win streak to 11 games, with their last loss coming at the hands of No. 7 Hawaii over a month ago.

The streak may look good on paper, but the fact that only two of the 11 are ranked has not been forgotten by Pavlik and the Lions.

"You don't worry about streaks," Pavlik said. "You just worry about the next match."

The next match will be against No. 6 Ball State on Friday. The Cardinals took Penn State to five sets in their first meeting this season, and the Lions are looking forward to taking them on again.

"We're looking forward to it," Pavlik said. "It should be a really good match-up again."