While the majority of Penn State students were glad to stay in their rooms this weekend, the No. 9-ranked men's volleyball team found solace outside of State College.

The Nittany Lions (7-3) traveled to Fort Wayne, Ind., and Columbus, Ohio, and came home with two wins over No. 13 Indiana Universtiy Purdue University Fort Wayne, 3-1, and the Buckeyes of Ohio State, 3-1.

On Saturday night the men had many obstacles to overcome.

First, the 1,200 plus Mastodon faithful that filled the gym for the game, second, the pep band that was firing up the aforementioned fans, and last, but certainly not least, the No. 13-ranked team in the country.

The Lions started the game strong by winning the first game 30-19, but lost momentum and were beat 30-23 in the second.

After going down 7-3 in the third Penn State fought back and, after several hitting errors by IPFW, took the lead for good and finished with a 31-29 win. The Mastodons couldn't recover from the previous loss and junior Norm Keil finished them off with an ace to end the match, 30-23.

"This is a good, friendly rivalry," said Penn State men's volleyball coach Mark Pavlik after the game. "That's what collegiate events are all about."

Senior Carlos Guerra led the Lions in kills with 15 and Penn State out hit IPFW .327 to .137 for the match.

On Sunday the bus took the men from Fort Wayne to Columbus, where the Lions took on the 7-3 Ohio State Buckeyes.

Unfortunately for both teams the referees canceled. Luckily there was another volleyball event in the area and replacement referees saved the day for the Big Ten rivals.

After taking an early 6-1 lead, the Lions became complacent and let Ohio State back into the match.

The upset-minded Buckeyes finished off the Lions, 30-28 in the first game.

The next three games were nip and tuck from the start. However, they all ended with the same result, Penn State victories, 30-24, 30-27, and 30-25 respectively.

"Ohio State was a team that wouldn't go away," Pavlik said. "They did everything they could to keep it close."

Junior libero Ricky Mattei had a game-high 11 digs, while freshman setter Dan O'Dell recorded a career-high four blocks to go with his 51 assists and six digs.

"We didn't have our best stuff," Pavlik said.

"But this team is starting to show some character."