Winless spikers fall to Waves in first of three weekend matches

By TONY MAUER
Collegian Staff Writer

In the end heart just wasn't enough.

The Penn State men's volleyball team, after giving its all for two and a half hours in a game where the momentum bounced back and forth, finally succumbed to No. 4 Pepperdine in four games (8-15, 15-10, 4-15, 9-15) last night at Rec Hall.

The Nittany Lions (0-2) won't have time to get ready for the rematch, however, as they head to Norristown High School, where they will face the Waves again Friday and Saturday. Both matches are scheduled for 8 p.m.

The Lions don't have as much to worry about as they did after Tuesday's home loss to No. 5 Ohio State.

Penn State senior co-captain Tony Mazzullo, who had 30 kills, 10 digs, and five blocks (three solo), was quite pleased with his team's play after the match.

"We passed well tonight," he said. "We also played with a lot of emotion, which is really nice to see."

The game, which was marked with a lot of swings in momentum and emotion, was up for grabs heading into the third game when Pepperdine seized control and refused to relinquish it.

Pepperdine coach Marv Dunphy pointed to game three as the critical point in the evening's match.

"Winning game three was the key," he said. "(Penn State) played well the second game and got themselves back in it. In game three, we sided out well and regained the momentum."

Pepperdine (2-0) was led by seniors George Roumain (30 kills and 13 digs) and J.J. Riley (84 assists, eight digs, and seven blocks). Sophomore Scott Wong agreed that the match was won in the third game.

"We started out great winning game one," he said. "(Penn State) came out strong in game two and caught us down.

"We came up really strong in game three and got out ahead," he added. "That was definitely the turning point."

Penn State, led by seniors Mazzullo and Dan Pollock (92 assists and six digs), definitely knows what they need to work on for this weekend's upcoming game.

"I think the key is blocking and defense," Penn State coach Mark Pavlik said. "We were out-blocked two-to-one and out-dug by nine. We had the opportunity to score but we didn't. Our blocking defense is not scoring us points."

The Lions also got good play by Eric Houston (27 kills, eight digs, and two service errors).

Penn State definitely is looking forward to the rematch.

"The offense is good on both sides," Pavlik said. "They should be fun games to watch."

Note: Freshman George Papadikas is sidelined with a pulled abdominal muscle. Papadikas sustained the injury Monday during practice. He is expected to be out 2-3 weeks.