There is no such thing as a rebuilding year for the Penn State volleyball team. That holds true even after losing seven seniors from last year's squad. No matter how young or inexperienced the team, the goals never change.

"We set the same goals every year," senior outside hitter Josh Mowrey said. "Play good in our conference, host our conference tournament, get to the Final Four and, ultimately, win a national championship."

The team's key losses from last year's squad include several statistical leaders. The Lions lost Nate Matthews, who led the team in attack percentage; Carlos Guerra, who led the team in points and kills; and Richard Schneider, who was second in serve percentage and among the top in several other categories.

Penn State men's volleyball coach Mark Pavlik reinforced the idea of keeping the same goals from year to year, even with seven new players this season.

"No goals change," Pavlik said. "We want to win the EIVA tournament and win the NCAA championship."

Pavlik has confidence in the Nittany Lions' chances to attain his goals because he has several key players returning. Junior Keith Kowal was first in blocks and second in attack percentage, points and kills last season. Also returning is dig leader Ricky Mattei along with set and serve leader Dan O'Dell.

This weekend, the young Penn State team will be on the road to play two top-notch programs and start the quest for those never-changing goals. Tonight at 8, the Lions play at Loyola, and, at 9 on Saturday, travel to Lewis to take on the defending national champions.

"We are looking for consistency over the weekend," Pavlik said. "Loyola is a great blocking team and can control the net if we let them. Lewis has enough weapons to make things tough. Both teams are comfortable at home and provide hostile environments."

With the win against Hawaii last Friday, this young team showed it could travel and win against big-time competition. In order to continue to succeed, not just this weekend, but this season, the Lions must work on a few things.

"We are a young team. We need to have consistent work ethic and look at the little things," Mowrey said.

"We have been working on our sideout game because it let us down in Hawaii."

In Hawaii, the Lions gave up strings of points on the sideout. They had a tough time fending off the serve of all three opponents, especially against Lewis and Manitoba. Penn State has been working hard to improve its dig and on winning points on the opponent's serve.

In the win against Hawaii, sophomore Dan O'Dell had a huge game with 79 assists on 84 attempts.

Sophomore Matt Proper led the team in kills and junior Keith Kowal was the most efficient with 19 kills on 28 attempts for a .571 percentage.

Pavlik is looking to fine-tune the offense and get into a steady groove.

He wants the team to use its tools on the court to get more consistent offensively, which he says will come with time.

Consistency seems to be the theme for Penn State this season, and the senior leadership from captains Josh Mowrey, Ricky Mattei and Keith Kowal (junior eligibility) will play an important role in achieving the consistent play Pavlik is looking for. With such an inexperienced team, the captains must help everyone improve on the court.

"Everyone will have a bigger role than they are used to," Mowrey said. "We lost a lot of seniors from last year."

Of the 15 players on the roster, 10 are sophomores or freshmen. Despite the youth of the team, Pavlik is expecting big things and is extremely confident in the talent of his players.

"These guys can play," Pavlik said. "You come to play at Penn State expecting to win a NCAA championship."