Spikers look for first win of season against Rutgers-Newark

By JOSH DAECHE
Collegian Staff Writer

Desperate to taste the sweetness of victory, the Penn State men's volleyball team will search for win No. 1.

The winless Nittany Lions, fresh off three losses in last week's Hawaiian Outrigger Invitational, look to make Rutgers-Newark their first victim at 7:30 p.m. today in Rec Hall.

All seven of the 0-7 Lions' losses have been to the top five teams in the country. Coach Mark Pavlik believes the team is in the right frame of mind.

"Hopefully we're looking at in the right way," Pavlik said. "We have played with teams ranked in the top five."

Rutgers returns to Happy Valley after competing in the Nittany Lion Invitational earlier this month. The unranked Scarlet Knights finished that tournament 2-2. Though Rutgers and Penn State did not play one another during the tournament, the teams share a lot of history..

Tonight's meeting is the 80th between the schools with the Lions holding the overall advantage, 56-22-1. Last year the two teams split with the home team losing in both matches.

Before last season's split, the Lions held a 15-game winning streak against Rutgers, dating back to April 7, 1992.

"They return everyone except one player," Pavlik said. "They bring to the court a real physical presence to the game."

Penn State likely will continue to feed off the leadership of its seniors. Led by the emotions of middle blocker Sergio Pampena and strong performances of late by swing hitter Tony Mazzullo, the Lions have been able to keep a positive spin on a negative start.

Penn State also has seen a lot of promise in its youth, namely sophomore swing hitter Eric Houston and backup setter Jose Quinones, both of whom showed a lot of promise during the recent road trip.

Though the Lions have not won a match this season, Pampena believes they are ready to elevate their performances to a higher level.

"I think we had a lot of good practices this week," Pampena said. "It's do or die time and we have to win."

Penn State needs to perform well against Rutgers this weekend if it has any plans of hosting the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Tournament. The Lions have won their conference tournament 11 of the last 13 years.

Penn State also will face the pressure of winning its first match in front of a home crowd, including team alumni in town for the annual alumni game.

Notes:

Penn State will square off against its alumni at 10 a.m. tomorrow in Rec Hall. Forty alumni from four different decades are expected to return. The alumni team has only won once in history, holding a 1-21 overall record when playing against Penn State's starting squad.