When the Penn State men's volleyball team takes on East Stroudsburg tonight at 7:30 in Rec Hall the key is how to stay motivated.

After opening the season against Big Ten rival Ohio State and then traveling to Hawaii to take on top-ranked teams Hawaii, UCLA and Lewis at the Outrigger Invitational, the Lions (8-2, 4-0 EIVA) have only played Top 10 teams twice, Stanford and Lewis.

Penn State has rebounded after a 1-2 start, winning all six of its games during their home stretch, playing with a "workman-like attitude," as head coach Mark Pavlik calls it.

"When we went to out Hawaii, we were tentative, and when we play at home, we're not," junior opposite Zeljko Koljesar.

During the win streak, the Lions have pummeled seemingly overmatched teams like St. Francis, George Mason, Juniata, New York University and Princeton, holding them to 20 or less points in six of 15 games.

"If we just keep our level real high in practice, we're ready for matches like these where we need to be winning in three and overpowering these teams," junior outside hitter Kevin Hodge said.

Princeton coach Glenn Nelson said that Penn State has pounded his team in the past and did more of the same last Saturday when the Lions swept the Tigers (30-12, 30-24, 30-25).

"They have everybody back this year and are rounding into pretty good form," Nelson said after the match. "They're going to have some trouble getting some competition in the East because I don't know that any of us can hang with them."

Senior setter Jose Quinones doesn't expect much of a difference between the teams that Penn State has played and East Stroudsburg.

"We should beat these teams 3-0 every night," Quinones said. "They know that and we know that."

East Stroudsburg (1-4, 0-3 in EIVA conference play) will head into State College looking for their first win since 1985, when the Penn State men's volleyball team was under the direction of head coach Tom Tait.

While under the direction of Pavlik, the Warriors have not come away with a victory against the Lions in all the times the two teams have played.

Penn State is a lopsided 45-5 against East Stroudsburg all-time. The teams last met in the pre-rally scoring era of 1999, in which the Lions swept the Warriors in three games (15-6, 15-4, 15-6).

Earlier this season, East Stroudsburg fell in three games (29-31, 25-30, 18-30) to an NYU team that Penn State crushed (30-20, 30-16, 30-20) last Friday.

The consensus among Penn State players and coaches is that single biggest advantage against East Stroudsburg is going to be their level of physical play.

"The fact that we're bigger, more athletic, and have played more higher-ranked teams than they have gives us a huge advantage," Quinones said.

When the Lions are playing at a physical level, Pavlik believes that they are likely to win.

"We're awfully tough for smaller teams to score on us," he said.

Tonight's match will be the last match of Penn State's seven-match homestand until March 1 when they host Ohio State.

The Lions may be reluctant to leave the comfort and familiarity of Rec Hall, where they have yet to be beaten this year.

"It's like sleeping in your own bed," Quinones said.