|
|
|
|
[ Monday, Jan. 11, 1999 ]
Spikers feed Canadians some home cooking
Penn State routs four Canadian teams to win own tournament
By TONY MAUER
Collegian Staff Writer
Seven men's volleyball teams, including three from the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association and four from Canada, braved the weather this past weekend as they journeyed to State College for the Nittany Lion Invitational. From the United States came St. Francis (Pa.), Rutgers-Newark and Juniata, 1998 Div. III National Champions. Niagara, Wilfrid Laurier, Windsor and Sherbrooke, which is ranked in the top 10 in Canada's CIAU, made the trip from Canada. The tournament, which boasted matchups between American and Canadian teams, was dominated from the beginning by the hometown favorite Lions, who opened their season 4-0. In the end, the three other American teams finished with 3-1 records, while the three Canadian teams aside from Sherbrooke (3-1) finished 0-3. The Lions opened the tournament last Friday afternoon against Niagara College. Although in its first action since its last preseason Blue-White game in November, Penn State quickly regained its form to defeat the Knights, 15-2, 15-7, 15-2. Senior Sergio Pampena, who racked up 13 kills while playing less than half the match, led the Lions. After the match, Penn State coach Mark Pavlik was pleased with his team's performance. "We should have won like we did," said Pavlik. "In the second game we had some errors which let them catch up, but in the first and third games we played well.
PHOTO: File
P enn State’s Tony Mazzullo knocks a ball past two East Stroudsburg defenders in a match last March at Rec Hall.
"Niagara is a young team," he continued. "The rest of the teams are a little more experienced and used to playing together. Sherbrooke is a really good team, the next three will be better."
Penn State finished off its opening day with a victory over Windsor, 15-5, 15-6, 15-7. Freshman Jason Hawkins led the team with 12 kills and sophomore Eric Houston added 11 kills.
Day two, however, would prove to be the real test in the tournament for the Lions.
Penn State opened the day against Wilfrid Laurier, which a day earlier lost to Juniata in five games and Rutgers-Newark in three games. Also on tap for the Lions was Sherbrooke, which had already beaten Juniata in three games and Rutgers-Newark in four.
Pavlik obviously wasn't very worried, however, as he played mostly younger players against Wilfrid Laurier, giving limited playing time to seniors Tony Mazzullo, Dan Schall, Brad Miller and Dan Pollock while keeping Pampena on the bench for the match's entirety.
The Lions, behind the strength of their youth and depth, went on to defeat Wilfred Laurier, 15-5, 15-7, 15-9.
The Lions were led by the strong play of junior Adam Whitescarver, who led the team with nine kills and a service ace. Also chipping in were freshman Josh Briggs (four kills, three blocks, three digs, three service aces) and sophomore Tim Hoffman, who racked up five kills and three blocks after not playing at all Friday.
As Penn State was putting the finishing touches on its victory over Wilfrid Laurier, Sherbrooke coaches and players watched intently.
Having just beat St. Francis (Pa.) in three games, Sherbrooke, then 3-0 in the tournament, was looking ahead to its battle with the only other unbeaten, Penn State.
St. Francis (Pa.) freshman Brett Schultz had a prediction for the upcoming game.
"It should be a pretty good game," said Schultz. "Sherbrooke's looking pretty tough, but I think Penn State should win."
So the stage was set, one of Canada's best teams versus the host Lions, and the matchup looked like a great one -- on paper.
With its starters rested, the Lions jumped to a big lead in game one behind the efforts of Mazzullo and Pampena. They would eventually win 15-5.
The second game started with Sherbrooke opening up an early 7-0 lead. Penn State, however, showed its resolve by fighting back and winning 15-12.
The Lions did not let the lead slip away, opening up the third game with a 10-3 lead and winning it 15-4.
Mazzullo and Pampena both finished with 16 kills, Miller added 12, and Pollock controlled the game by dishing out 56 assists.
After the game, Sherbrooke coach Glen Hoag spoke highly of the Lions.
"The other colleges were OK," said Hoag. "But Penn State is obviously good competition. They did a great job of blocking and playing defense, Penn State executed really well."
Hoag wasn't the only coach impressed by how well Penn State played.
Added Pavlik: "I was very pleased with how we played."
R E L A T E D S T O R Y
