Pampena-led Spikers jolt Juniata; roll to EIVA semis

In the words of Penn State men's volleyball coach Mark Pavlik, the Nittany Lions were looking for just "one big play" to end Juniata's season, but it took an intense team effort to pull off a win.

Saturday night, the Penn State men's volleyball team advanced to the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) semifinals with a 3-1 (15-6, 11-15, 15-10, 15-7) lashing of the Eagles.

"We've had slow starts all year," Juniata coach Ryan Patton said. "In both this match and the last one, we let the first game get out of hand. It's frustrating because I feel like we let two games get away."

Penn State's fast pace was too much for Juniata to handle and the Lions eventually won 15-6.

But in the second game, the Lions' momentum started to dissipate and Juniata's strong offense, led by opposite hitter Tim Shawaryn, gained the edge. Shawaryn had 19 kills, four digs and three blocks.

The Eagles surged ahead 8-0, but several Juniata errors allowed Penn State to close the gap. The Eagles finally put the game away 15-11.

"After the loss, I told the guys, 'We can stand here and watch them hit balls and we'll still be standing here next week, or we can start to play,' " middle blocker Sergio Pampena said. "That's when they realized we needed to pick it up."

Pavlik also said the solid passing of swing hitter Steve Aird helped calm the Lions for the third game. But it took a few plays for the team to pull it together.

"We had people trying to make one big kill to bring the crowd to its feet," Pavlik said. "One play is not going to make them say, 'Oh, we can't beat this team.' "

Juniata's strong offense keyed an 8-4 lead in the third game, but the Lions managed to come back and tie the game at 10. From there, the Lions' electricity lit up the court and they took the game 15-10.

"Our comeback had a lot to do with the upperclassmen," Aird said. "Serge especially played like he didn't want the season to end."

The Eagles didn't want their season to end either. Their error-free start to the fourth game made it difficult for Penn State to gain an edge. After long stretches of sideouts, the Lions were able to gain a 8-3 lead.

Juniata's offense challenged Penn State, but the Lions' energy wore the Eagles down. Penn State eventually defeated the exhausted Eagles 15-7.

"When we were out of system, they were able to gang up on us with their blockers," Patton said. "That showed at the end."

The Lions now go on to face Princeton, which also advanced Saturday night by beating Springfield. Although the Tigers beat up on the Lions 3-0 the last time these two met, Penn State is confident going into the semifinals on Thursday.

"I think they're going to have something to prove," Aird said. "I think we're going to be a different Penn State team than what they saw the last time and it's not going to be as easy to beat us."