Spikers win two of three

By JOSH DAECHE
Collegian Staff Writer

The Penn State men's volleyball team was down time and again this weekend, but its never-say-die attitude translated into two wins out of three matches.

The No. 14 Nittany Lions (7-10) traveled to No. 4 Indiana-Purdue at Fort Wayne Friday and upset the Mastadons in five games. The Lions then beat Ball State in five games Saturday before losing to Ohio State yesterday.

Penn State assistant coach Dennis Hohenshelt knew that for the Lions to be successful they could not afford to give up long rallies of consecutive points --something that has plagued them all the season.

"The guys' confidence is good," Hohenshelt said before the weekend. "They realize they will have to limit their mistakes this weekend."

In the early going Friday, Penn State did not appear to be taking that advice to heart at IPFW.

In the first two games Penn State looked like the Lions of old -- losing a tough first game 15-12 and the second game, 15-5.

But in the third game, Penn State was determined not to go down and forced a fourth game by winning, 15-11. The Lions only committed two hitting errors and out-hit the Mastadons .472 to .244.

In the fourth game, Penn State proved the third game was no fluke and won 15-11 to force a fifth and final game.

With the momentum flowing for Penn State and IPFW in shellshock, the Lions connected on 10 of 13 attacks and won, 15-9.

Swing hitter Tony Mazzullo led Penn State with 16 kills and 10 digs, while outside hitter Eric Houston chipped in with 15 kills and a match-high five service aces.

Saturday, Penn State traveled to Ball State in pursuit of its seventh victory of the season.

In the early stages Penn State's luck looked as if it had run out. The Lions dropped the first two games to Ball State, 15-8 and 15-12.

Though Penn State struggled, Mazzullo was determined not to let the Lions die, and led the match with 28 kills. As strong as Mazzullo was offensively, he was even more impressive defensively posting 20 digs and eight blocks. Mazzullo self-propelled the Lions to win the third game, 15-7.

Like the night before, the Lions carried that game-three momentum to wins in game four (15-13) and five (15-10).

After the match, Ball State coach Joel Walton was beside himself.

"To lose the way we did is disappointing," Walton said in Ball State press release. "I give Penn State credit, they really picked up their defensive intensity."

Yesterday, Penn State was denied a sweep of the weekend by Ohio State. It was the third loss by the Lions to the Buckeyes this season.

In this latest meeting of the rivals, it took just four games for the Buckeyes to slam the door (15-11, 6-15, 15-6, 15-5).