As sophomore LaToya Harris pointed out after the women's volleyball match between Washington State and Penn State, if the ball doesn't go over the net, a team can't score.

How true that was Saturday night.

Harris, a first-team All-Pac 10 selection for the Cougars, was just one of the many to suffer from a brief serving syndrome.

Usually her jump serves are effective, as she blasts the ball over the net with great speed.

But five service errors to one ace is hardly what a coach wants to see and that is exactly what Harris' stat line read.

"We didn't play up to the level we know how to," Harris said. "It wasn't the fact that we had to play our best. We needed to keep the ball in play."

As a team, Washington State had 14 service errors to just four aces. Cougars coach Cindy Fredrick said the struggles went against everything she and her team aim to do in every game.

"We try to have one rule on this team and that is don't beat yourself," Fredrick said. "And if you don't serve, you've pretty much beaten yourself."

The errors were never more significant than in the fourth game. Washington State had just claimed some momentum after winning game three, making it a 2-1 Penn State advantage. It seemed like a prime opportunity to jump on the Lions and even the match at 2-2. But then came disaster when the Cougars found themselves behind 5-0.

"5-0 didn't bother me," Fredrick said. "At 5-0, I don't worry because these guys have come back from that before.

"But when the next server went in and missed her serve it bothered me. And then the next server missed her serve, and then the next server missed hers. Then I thought we were in a little bit of trouble. When you start seeing them miss serves all the time, then you get a little bit stressed on the bench."

Out of the first five serves by Washington State during the fourth game, three were errors. They added another three before it was all over.

In the end, the troubles were too much to overcome and Penn State had ended the Cougars' season with a 3-1 victory.

However, Washington State wasn't the only one to struggle serving. The Lions had 10 service errors of their own. Penn State coach Russ Rose didn't talk about it much because he knew it was an important victory against a solid team. But he did express some concern in that area.

"We missed way too many serves for what our game plan was," Rose said. "But I think it hurt them more because Harris has a great jump serve and she had one ace tonight and five errors."

The Lions will look to improve in that area, along with others, as they prepare for their match against Colorado State this Thursday. That match will take place at 5 p.m. at the Los Angeles Sports Arena in Southern California.