Penn State was laughing. Fans were laughing. The announcer was laughing. Even Concordia had a hard time taking itself seriously.

The Nittany Lions (24-3, 15-0 EIVA Tait) men's volleyball squad pounded Concordia (12-16, 7-8 EIVA Tait) into submission last night, sweeping them in three games (30-18, 30-28, 30-23).

"I don't know why they didn't (take themselves seriously), but we saw it," junior outside hitter Carlos Guerra said. "We wanted to go out and show them that we're a team, and we're not going to let down."

The Lions spanked the Clippers early, holding them to only nine kills and a .000 hitting percentage in the first game. Penn State racked up 17 kills on a .500 hitting percentage.

It looked like more of the same in the second game as the Lions jumped out in front 25-18. The Clippers rallied to bring the score to 29-28, forcing four Penn State game points.

Though Concordia climbed within one point, Lions coach Mark Pavlik never thought his team would lose control.

"I never got a sense that we were going to lose control of the match," Pavlik said. "I was just disappointed with the level of effort at that point. I don't think it would have turned. I just don't think they can hang with us."

The Lions returned to their game one form in game three by taking an early 10-4 lead.

"Sometimes a little slap in the face by the two-by-four of reality can do a lot to get the guys refocused," Pavlik said.

Once Penn State took control, Concordia players' heads began to hang in disappointment.

"As the kids that most of them are, they're seeing what they think is supposed to happen," Clippers head coach Ivan Marquez said. "When we got to 28 points in game two, they were freaking out because that's not what's supposed to happen."

Concordia could never recover and lost game three 30-23, once again registering a .000 hitting percentage.

"They're offense right now is really predictable," said Penn State senior setter Jose Quinones, who had 27 assists in the match. "We always have four people up so it's just easier for us to read their offense and form a good block."

For the match, the Lions dominated at the net, out-blocking the Clippers 9.5.-5. Penn State had 19 block assists to Concordia's six.

"They're twice our size, so what can you do?" Marquez said.

Despite the loss, Marquez was proud of his team's effort.

"We weren't even supposed to be here with the injuries that we've had," Marquez said. "It was a victory for us to be able to get to the Final Four and to keep our tradition up and alive."

With the win, the Lions advance to the EIVA finals against Rutgers-Newark Saturday at 7 p.m. in Rec Hall.

"That's the one thing we practiced and played for -- the EIVA championship and the (NCAA) Final Four," Quinones said. "That's our goal. It's tough to say, but if we lose Saturday, it's going to be a major disappointment in my eyes and everyone else's eyes."