Husband, wife lead respective teams into battle

When two people marry, there is the possibility that their favorite sports teams might play each other once in a while. There may be some rivalry, but it rarely boils down to this.

Penn State men's volleyball coach Mark Pavlik will have to look at his wife, Heather, in a new light -- the light from the other side of the court. The Pavliks will be coaching opposite each other for the first time at 8 p.m. today in Rec Hall when the No. 8 Nittany Lions take on Juniata. Penn State will also take on Indiana-Purdue at Fort Wayne (IPFW) at 7 p.m. tomorrow in Rec Hall.

Although Mark is Penn State's head coach and Heather is the assistant coach at Juniata, the Pavliks do not see this game as a match of each other's wits.

"It's kind of silly to say that it's Mark versus Heather because I don't see it like that," the Penn State coach said. "What she does and how we stop it falls under Dennis' (Hohenshelt, assistant coach at Penn State) control. What we do and how they stop it falls under Ryan's (Patton, head coach at Juniata) control."

Mark Pavlik is in his fourth year of coaching at Penn State. Before coming here, Mark was the assistant women's volleyball coach at Juniata. He says that Heather, who was a setter, was one of his best players.

"She allowed us at Juniata to put together a very powerful offense," Mark said. "People who saw her play said she set like a man. We're talking about a very gifted athlete."

Heather is at the helm of the Juniata offense for the first time this season. Although the Pavliks have never coached opposing teams, Mark may find a certain familiarity the Eagles' attack.

"I kid around at the office that I have insider information," Heather said. "What I learned about coaching I learned from him. He's quietly intense. He's very analytical and doesn't get caught in the emotion. "

Mark may have the analytical edge, but he revealed Heather is the aggressor of the duo.

"She has a very competitive nature that served her well as a player and now as a coach," Mark said. "I'm laid back and more patient of the two of us."

His patience also serves him well at home. With all the added pressures and problems of coaching, Heather said it's nice to have a seasoned veteran around.

"It's nice to come home to someone who understands exactly what I'm going through, whether it's about our team or one I'm facing," Heather said.

For this pair, it's fairly difficult to avoid conversations about volleyball. So when the Pavliks face each other tonight there will be no surprises.

"We compare notes and we're pretty straight forward," Heather said. "We keep it professional because we both have a job to do. He's not the sneaky type so I think we'll both play it straight up."

For Mark the job doesn't end today. For him, there's still the business of IPFW to take care of tomorrow. But for right now, that's on the back burner.

For the Pavliks, wins and losses make no difference, but their teams have different opinions. Both coaches recognize the skill of their opponents and are prepared to turn up the juice.

"We enjoy playing this caliber of opponent," Heather said. "Everybody turns it up a notch when they have to perform at the highest level. We'll be sharp and if we do everything right this could be a long match."