Spikers seeking stability in trio of tough road matches

By JOSH DAECHE
Collegian Staff Writer

A weekend full of challenges on the road lies ahead for the Penn State men's volleyball team as it continues its search for consistency.

The No. 14 Nittany Lions (5-9) will play a trio of matches on the road this weekend beginning at 7:30 p.m. today against No. 4 Indiana-Purdue at Fort Wayne. The Lions will then travel to Ball State at 7 p.m. tomorrow and wrap up the weekend against No. 8 Ohio State at 2:30 p.m. Sunday in Columbus, Ohio.

It is the second time in three weeks Penn State will face No. 4-ranked IPFW. The Mastadons (7-1) were upset Tuesday night in five games (15-5, 10-15, 16-14, 10-15, 10-15) by Ball State. Though IPFW is coming off a loss, the Mastadons have seen strong play all year from outside hitter Hector Soto, who played like a one-man wrecking crew the last time he faced Penn State. Soto thrashed the Lions for 33 kills in three games in IPFW's sweep.

Penn State assistant coach Dennis Hohenshelt knows stopping Soto will be a challenge the Lions cannot take lightly.

"You have to give up some things when you face him," Hohenshelt said. "(Soto) hits everything very hard. We really have to stress staying deep on him. I like what we're doing with our blocking and we are better than we were three weeks ago."

Ball State, meanwhile, is 4-4 and riding high after its victory over IPFW. However, Penn State is one of only three teams to have a winning all-time record in Ball State's University Arena.

In the Cardinals' victory over IPFW, they received excellent performances from seniors Jason Fehr and Danis Matision, who combined for 47 kills.

Ball State is the only team on this road trip Penn State has not faced this season, and the Lions are not sure what to expect.

"We know who's starting for them but that's it," Hohenshelt said. "They're the unknown factor."

On Sunday, Penn State will square off against Ohio State. The Lions and Buckeyes have already met twice this season with Ohio State winning both matches.

Last Saturday, Ohio State outlasted Penn State in four games. The match lasted two hours and 30 minutes and both teams combined for 222 kills on 418 attempts.

Penn State outside hitter Jason Hawkins hopes three is a charm for the Lions.

"We have two matches before them this weekend and it's going to be a good match to get into," Hawkins said. "We will have to get together and suck it up. We know that this might be the last time we will see them and we don't want them to win all three times this season."

Penn State also knows this weekend will bring challenges it must handle to gain back some of the respect it lost by starting off the season 0-7.

"I'm pretty excited about playing this weekend," middle hitter Brad Miller said.

"If we come out of this weekend 3-0 it would be big," Hohenshelt said. "We would be considered a team to look out for down the line."

Notes:

Miller was named EIVA Player of the Week this week. Miller had 44 kills combined and hit over .500 in last weekend's matches against Ohio State and Loyola (Chicago) in the Golden Dome Classic.