PSU finishes conference play undefeated

By Adam Gorney
Collegian Staff Writer

At this point in the season, any win is a good win.

The Penn State men's volleyball team finished its regular season this weekend by going 2-0 to finish conference play undefeated. The Nittany Lions (17-13, 14-0 EIVA) finalized the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association's (EIVA) Tait Division with another championship to add to their collection before heading into the playoffs next weekend.

The No. 15 Lions defeated conference-opponents George Mason and Princeton away from Rec Hall, both in four-game victories, while Penn State struggled with bad bus trips, short warmup times and other obstacles in its path to victory.

The Lions started the weekend playing in an emotional match Friday night against George Mason. The Patriots used the contest to honor former George Mason player and coach Uvaldo Acosta, who tragically drowned during a team trip to Hawaii in 1998.

Penn State was cold going into the contest as the Lions arrived late to the match, having only 15 minutes to warm up.

After dropping game one 12-15 to the Patriots, Penn State came back to win the next three, 15-2, 15-1, 15-11, ruining George Mason's senior weekend.

Penn State reserve Tim Hoffman, who was playing for injured Zeljko Koljesar, came up big in the comeback against the Patriots, slamming 25 kills, while freshman Carlos Guerra contributed with 23.

Although the Lions pulled out the hard-fought battle against George Mason, Penn State men's volleyball coach Mark Pavlik said the team wasn't prepared well going into the match.

"We get in the Holiday Inn at 3:30 (a.m.) and get up at 11:30," Pavlik said. "Good teams have to overcome those obstacles."

After the match at George Mason, the Lions hopped back on the bus and traveled to Princeton for their final conference match of the season Saturday afternoon.

With the conference already locked up and only a perfect record to fight for, Penn State wasn't going to allow the Tigers to make their season with an upset at home.

After losing game one for a second straight night, however, Penn State was in trouble.

"Lethargic was inappropriate. They weren't even moving at that speed," Pavlik said. "I was disappointed with what I saw before the match."

Again, Guerra and Penn State swing hitter Eric Houston came up large as they combined for 43 kills as the Lions pummeled the Tigers in four games, (11-15, 15-10, 15-13, 15-2).

Although Penn State won both matches, finishing the regular season undefeated, Penn State setter Jose Quinones said there is still work to be done.

"It's just a matter of people concentrating on the little things like blocking and digging," Quinones said. "We had stretches where we were brilliant, but we couldn't do that for the whole match."

Houston said there is only one important thing that matters at this point in the season.

"Both matches we had a problem warming up," the Lititz native said. "The 'W' is what counts."

The Lions finish the regular season with a 14-0 EIVA mark that grants them the No. 1 seed going into this weekend's conference playoffs. Penn State will play the winner of the Harvard-Queens College match, which will be hosted by the Lions at 7:30 on Saturday night at Rec Hall.