Spikers find groove with victory; new No. 1 team in coaches' poll

By JOSH DAECHE
Collegian Staff Writer

The Penn State men's volleyball team appears to be back on the right track after knocking off Rutgers-Newark in four games last Friday at Rec Hall for its first victory of the season.

The No. 13 Nittany Lions (1-7) saw production all over the court, led by backup setter Jose Quinones.

Quinones, who had impressed head coach Mark Pavlik the last couple of weeks with his solid play in the Hawaiian Outrigger Invitational, was given the nod over senior setter Dan Pollock. Quinones responded with a career-high 72 assists, seven kills and a team-high 11 digs.

Quinones' strong performance has left some wondering whether he will be running the floor this Friday night when the Lions host last year's Div. III champion Juniata at Rec Hall.

While Penn State may have some controversy building at the setter position, upsets and surprises have left this week's USA Today/AVCA coaches' poll with a new No. 1 and the rest of the poll in shambles.

The men's volleyball world was left in shock last Thursday when then-No. 1 UCLA fell to then-No. 5 Pepperdine in five games. With the Bruins' loss, the door was left wide open for a new No. 1.

On the hardwood

Edging out Pepperdine by one first-place vote, Lewis claimed the new No. 1 ranking. The Flyers (6-1) went undefeated last weekend defeating Ball State, Quincy and Park. Lewis takes its No. 1 ranking to Clarke next Monday.

No. 2 Pepperdine (7-0) moved up three spots from last week after the upset win. 1998 NCAA Player of the Year George Roumain, who had 39 kills in the UCLA win, continued his dominance last Saturday with 30 kills and a remarkable .806 hitting percentage against UC-Irvine in the Wave's defeat of the Anteaters in three games. Tonight, the Wave will look to keep their undefeated mark alive when they host UC-Santa Barbara.

No. 3 BYU (6-0) remained flawless as it knocked off last year's Canadian collegiate champion Winnipeg in three games (15-9, 15-7, 16-14) last Saturday. The Cougars were led by three-time All-American Ryan Millar who had 20 kills and a .567 hitting percentage. Next up for the Cougars is Cal-State Northridge tomorrow and Loyola Marymount Saturday.

UCLA (4-2) fell three spots to No. 4 after losing to Pepperdine. Though the Bruins lost the match, swing hitter Danny Farmer turned in a strong performance with 23 kills, 16 digs and a .514 hitting percentage. The Bruins will look to get back on track tomorrow night against UC Irvine.

No. 5 Hawaii (5-2) dropped one spot after slipping by Stanford in five games (15-8, 15-11, 14-16, 11-15, 16-14) last Friday. The Rainbows had four players with more than 20 kills. Dejan Miladinovic had a career-high 13 blocks that helped seal the fate of the Cardinal. Hawaii hosts an alumni game this Saturday.

No. 6 Long Beach State (3-0) fought back after losing the first match last Friday to win the next three (12-15, 15-6, 15-5, 15-12) against San Diego State. The 49ers fed off the strong play of Neil Mason, whose 23 kills and .357 hitting percentage were career highs. Long Beach State will play its first ranked opponent of the season tomorrow in No. 7 Stanford (2-1).

No. 8 Ohio State (3-2) lost to Indiana-Purdue at Fort Wayne in five games last Saturday. The Buckeyes will look to bounce back against Ball State tonight.

No. 9 IPFW and No. 10 Loyola wrap up the top 10.

Player of the Week

Pepperdine's Roumain was named this week's NCAA Player of the Week. His 69 kills in two games helped lead the Wave over UCLA and UC-Irvine last week.