Conference meeting turns into practice for spikers

Meaningless. That's how many would describe the No. 2 Penn State men's volleyball team's match against Rutgers-Newark at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Golden Dome Arena in Newark, N.J.

The Nittany Lions (25-1) and Rutgers-Newark are both members of the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association. The EIVA already has announced the seedings for the league tournament, making this game insignificant in the big picture.

"This game is not real important," Raiders coach Ron Larsen said. "Winning or losing will not have a great effect on us."

While the outcome may not concern the Raiders, Penn State does not want to lose the momentum it has gained during its 20-match win streak. For the Lions, this game is far from meaningless.

"If you look at the schedule it would be easy to say that," Lion coach Mark Pavlik said, "but Rutgers is special. They certainly have ability, so we can't take them for granted."

The match also will give Penn State a feel of what the EIVA semifinals will be like in two weeks. That match also will be played at the Golden Dome, and the conditions should be the same as this weekend's.

"This is like dress rehearsal," Pavlik said. "There are a lot of things we can gain from this trip."

Despite the Raiders' talent, they have not been able to find a way to beat the Lions, dropping the last three meetings.

But Rutgers-Newark has shown flashes of brilliance against the Lions, including a five-set nail-biter at Rec Hall in February.

"Playing well at Penn State earlier does help us mentally," Larsen said, "but I don't know if we can stay with them the entire game."

The most difficult task for the Lions will be staying focused. With the NCAA championships looming, it takes a special mentality to get up for matches like this.

"It gets tough when you are coming down to the dog days of the season," Pavlik said. "We just have to stay aware of what Rutgers can do and worry about our side of the net."