Princeton latest victim as Spikers finally break even

By JOSH DAECHE
Collegian Staff Writer

All even after 20 matches.

The Penn State men's volleyball team traveled to Dillon Gymnasium on March 5 to take on Princeton. The No. 11 Nittany Lions (10-10, 5-0 Tait Division) were on a roll, having won eight of their 10 matches. It took Penn State just 63 minutes to sweep the Tigers in three games (15-4, 15-3, 15-10) and move to .500 for the first time this season.

The Lions were led by swing hitter Eric Houston, who had 13 kills. Houston's counterpart, senior Tony Mazzullo, had nine kills on 10 attempts and added six blocks. Freshman setter Jose Quinones led the Lions with a team-high six digs, while middle blocker Brad Miller contributed with a team-high seven blocks.

Although Princeton lost, it did see strong play from Brandon Vegter, who had 13 kills in the match. Tigers' standout John Lerch tied Lions setter Quinones with a co-game-high six digs.

But it was not enough to hold off the Lions. Sophomore Tim Hoffman believes the reason to Penn State's success was that the Lions played as one.

"We played well together as a team," he said. "Princeton didn't have one of their better nights."

In Penn State's first match against Princeton, the Lions took all three games against the Tigers Feb. 7 in Rec Hall.

On that night Penn State received strong performances from middle blocker Adam Whitescraver, who had 14 kills on 18 attempts and was one of four Lions to hit over .700. The Lions swept the Tigers (15-6, 15-10, 15-11).

After the match on March 5, Penn State coach Mark Pavlik gave his squad the week off for spring break. It was the first time under Pavlik that he allowed the squad to take time off.

"I think the group we have will stay focused," assistant coach Dennis Hohenshelt said before the break. "We hope they come back with some extra spring in their step and come back fresh for the final seven weeks."

Penn State's next test will come Wednesday when it takes on a tough St. Francis team in Rec Hall at 7:30.

"We start off with tough competition," Hoffman said. "We will have to get back into the groove of things with a lot of practices."