What goes down, must come up

After a slow start, the Spikers won two more to gain late-season momentum

The Penn State men's volleyball team, according to swing hitter Eric Houston, isn't exactly where it wanted to be at this point in the season.

The Nittany Lions put away their last two opponents of the regular season by wiping out Ball State 3-2 (16-17, 2-15, 15-5, 15-2, 16-14) on Friday night then axing Indiana-Purdue at Fort Wayne (IPFW) 3-1 (15-12, 12-15, 15-1, 15-10). Although they finished up the regular season with a 16-14 record, Houston expressed concern over the number of losses.

The Lions' turnaround came on the road in California. Ever since clearing the West Coast, Penn State has been gaining momentum.

The embarrassing second loss awoke the sleeping Lions, and the offense took command jumping out to 10-1 lead in the third game. They quickly finished off the Cardinals 15-5.

In the fourth, Penn State, led by swing hitter Tony Mazzullo, leaped out to a stunning 13-0 lead. After that, it was an easy 15-2 victory for the Lions. Mazzullo had a team-high 28 kills, 12 digs and five blocks.

In the rally game, the Lions took the lead early and never surrendered it. The Cardinals came back numerous times to tie, but aided by Ball State service errors, the Lions put up the win with a 16-14 final.

"Ball State was blocking real well but then we really picked it up offensively after the first two games," Houston said. "We avoided the block and scored points instead of getting roofed."

Driven by Friday's comeback ousting of Ball State, Penn State went on to slam the door in the face of IPFW on Saturday. In the first game, the Lions found themselves down 3-7 early on, but they showed their comeback ability again by turning the game around and winning 15-12.

IPFW capitalized on the few opportunities Penn State allowed. In the second game, the Lions were stunned with a 12-15 loss. But the Lions turned the tables on them in the third and manhandled them 15-1.

The Lions finished off the match with a quick 15-10 victory in the fourth. Penn State coach Mark Pavlik said his team left IPFW with few options for coming back in the match.

"We played real well, served tough and didn't leave many holes open," Pavlik said. "They didn't have much they could do against us."

This dominance is a far cry from the level of play the Lions displayed earlier in the season. But in light of the team's turnaround, Pavlik said his team is in a good position at the close of the regular season.

"I think we're in good shape heading into the quarterfinals," Pavlik said. "We'll see how things are seeded, but I think we've got a good shot now."