Two out of three ain't bad
Spikers still sad after dropping crucial match to No. 9 IPFW, despite wins against Juniata, Princeton.

By JOSH DAECHE
Collegian Staff Writer

If it's not broke, don't fix it.

The Penn State men's volleyball team did just that by staying with the same lineup during this weekend's trio of matches.

Lions' coach Mark Pavlik started Eric Houston, Brad Miller, Sergio Pampena, Tony Mazzullo, Tim Hoffman and Jose Quinones.

On Friday the No. 13 Nittany Lions (3-8) opened their EIVA conference play against last year's Div.III Molten Champions, Juniata.

The Eagles came into the confines of Happy Valley with something to prove. Juniata had lost its last five matches to the Lions, and Eagles assistant coach Heather Pavlik hoped to change that. Heather -- the wife of Lions' head coach Mark -- has been with the Eagles for the past two seasons and has never beaten Penn State.

The Lions opened the scoring against Juniata with Miller coming up with a big block. On the ensuing play, he stuffed another Eagle shot to make the score to 2-0.

Miller was the answer early and often Friday, leading the team with a game-high eight blocks.

Penn State played strong all night, feeding off the presence of Miller. As a team, the Lions had 22 blocks and used its depth to outlast the Eagles in four games (15-8, 15-7, 14-16, 15-8).

In game three, Penn State's Pavlik emptied his bench, playing every player in uniform, including George Papadikas, who came in the third game and immediately made his presence felt when he blocked Juniata's outside hitter Jason Moore. Papadikas played strong throughout the match, finishing with five kills and posting a .700 hitting percentage on the night.

"These guys work hard and deserve it," Pavlik said.

The Lions inability to put teams away showed all night. In the first three matches, the Lions were up 10-3, 13-6 and 8-5 but could not finish off Juniata.

In the third game, Juniata's Ryan Celesnik continued to fight and helped the Eagles force a game four.

"I just told the guys to play one point at a time," Celesnik said. "It's a game we've played forever, so just relax."

In the fourth game, Penn State erased any thoughts of an upset. The Lions came out fired-up, led by Pampena, Miller and Mazzullo. The Lions were not going to be denied, winning the match 15-8. Pampena led the team with 15 kills.

In Saturday's match against Indiana-Purdue at Fort Wayne, it was a different story. Penn State looked completely out of sync against No. 9 IPFW.

Penn State dropped all three matches (15-13, 15-13, 15-8) to the Mastadons. IPFW outside hitter Hector Soto was unstoppable. Soto, who finished the night with 33 kills, hit everything and that came his way.

IPFW outplayed the Lions all night by winning the long rallies. Penn State's only bright spots were Miller, who led the Lions with 16 kills, and Steve Aird, who made his presence felt with solid passing and strong defensive play.

On Sunday, Penn State swept Princeton in three games (15-6, 15-10, 15-11). The Lions' depth again was the story. Penn State middle-blocker Adam Whitescraver showed his strength by posting a team-high 14 kills in two games.

Other key performers for Penn State were Dan Hoechst -- one of four Lions to hit more than .700 Sunday -- and Quinones, who averaged more than 50 assists per contest throughout the weekend.

"Jose is following through with the game plan," Pavlik said.

The Lions play at East Stroudsburg Thursday.

"This weekend was okay, but we're still not happy," Aird said. "We've got to find ways to make the big play in crucial matches."