Spikers to face No. 6 Cardinals in Classic

Neither Penn State nor Ball State ought to make early dinner plans tonight. Based on recent history, both teams will be on the court for a while.

Both clubs come into the match with just one loss. Penn State (16-1) made quick work of Eastern Mennonite in three games Tuesday, while the Cardinals (13-1) defeated Ohio State in four games the same night.

Ball State's only loss was to the Lions in the Golden Dome Classic two weeks ago. Cardinal coach Don Shondell said his team had Penn State on the ropes.

"It was a great match. It didn't start well or finish well for us," Shondell said. "We just gave it away at the end, and our intent is to not let that happen again."

The two teams split the first four games of the match, then Ball State had a 12-9 lead in rallied-scored game five, but the Lions came back to win, 15-13. Penn State coach Mark Pavlik expects nothing less than another marathon.

"I'm really looking forward to this weekend," he said.

The play of middle blockers Sergio Pampena and Brad Miller was a key to the first Lion victory over Ball State. Each contributed double figures in kills, taking some of the offensive pressure off Ivan Contreras and Jason Kepner.

Pampena said the Lions have to be efficient this weekend against the Cardinals, since they are one of the better teams Penn State plays.

"When we get good scoring chances we have to make sure we put points on the board," Pampena said. "It will take a whole team effort to beat Ball State. Since they're ranked No. 6 it will help us get more respect."

The winner of Penn State vs. Ball State match will face the winner of Springfield and Puerto Rican National team affair. Springfield comes in 9-4 and ranked No. 3 among Division III schools.

The Puerto Rican team has two players who played collegiate ball in the United States. Middle blocker Felipe Ralat and outside hitter Ricardo Soler both played at Indiana-Purdue-Ft. Wayne.

This weekend starts a stretch of five straight weekends away from home for the Lions. Pavlik said this could be the most difficult part of the schedule.

"Anytime you start traveling in the middle of the season," Pavlik said, "you have to find the resiliency to get on a bus and travel and be ready to play."

Shondell said he's taking his Cardinals to Massachusetts confident his team will play well against the Lions. Since this has been such a heated rivalry between the two, it's tough to pick the favorite.

"Anytime we play them it's a toss up. It could go either way. It will just matter who gets the breaks at the end," Shondell said. "It should go right down to the wire."