Spikers still on a roll after wins at Flyer Fest

The Penn State men's volleyball team had to fight through two main adversaries again this weekend, but neither were on the court.

After another long bus ride and wavering concentration against poor opposition, the No. 2 Nittany Lions strolled through the competition in the Flyer Festival at Lewis University, defeating the host, 15-10, 8-15, 15-13, 15-13, and LaVerne, 17-15, 15-1, 9-15, 15-5. Penn State is now 24-1 for the year with a 19-match winning streak.

Lion coach Mark Pavlik said traveling such a long distance to Illinois was a major concern, but his team responded well.

"I was concerned with not getting there until 2 p.m. on Friday and having no practice time before the match," he said.

Ivan Contreras paced the Lion attack with 34 kills. Jason Kepner broke out of a hitting slump with 23 kills, and Sergio Pampena set his career-high with 21. Kepner and Tony Mazzullo led Penn State on the defensive end with 10 digs apiece.

Mike Prosek was nearly a one-man show for Lewis (20-8), putting away a match-high 43 kills. Victor Rivera and Bart Bachorski chipped in 23 and 20 kills, respectively, for the Flyers.

Mazzullo said Prosek was nearly unstoppable for Lewis. Prosek's 43 kills were the most by an opposing hitter against Penn State this season.

"We just had to do out best to try to get a ball up if he gave us the opportunity to," Mazzullo said about Prosek. "We just took it in stride and let him get his kills while we got ours."

LaVerne needed more than Shirley to pull out a win against the Lions. LaVerne came in 3-21 but made game one interesting thanks to Penn State mistakes.

"We were shaking out the cobwebs," Pavlik said of Penn State's match against LaVerne. "Nine to 10 of LaVerne's points came on hitting errors we just don't make. Eventually, our physical ability just took over."

The Lions had six players in double figures in kills, led by Kepner's 17. Brad Miller had 14, while Mazzullo and Adam Whitescarver put away a dozen each.

Rob Sneider led LaVerne with 20 kills with Ryan Allen adding 15. LaVerne hit just 29 percent for the match compared to Penn State's 41.

Penn State's second team had its problems once again in game three but put things together to close out the LaVerne match. Contreras said the second unit plays well; it just needs more consistency.

"It's a concern, but the main reason they're out there is to get experience," Contreras said. "So I'm not too worried."

Pavlik said wavering concentration is something that must end if the Lions are to win a national championship. He said throughout this season they have the formula to win. They just need to keep their heads in the match.

"We're siding out 71 percent of the time, which means the opposition has to serve at least 50 times in order to beat us," Pavlik said. "We've got to make sure and follow the game plan. At times we put it on autopilot and never really adjust."