After losing seven seniors from last year's squad, the Penn State men's volleyball team was in need of young players who could step up. Over the past few games, freshman outside-hitter Alex Gutor has done just that.

His progression and maturity was especially evident in the Nittany Lion's 3-0 (30-22, 30-22, 30-23) drubbing of Ohio State last night.

"He was really good," Ohio State men's volleyball coach Pete Hanson said. "Hitting .409 is big time numbers. Obviously he's playing with some confidence right now."

Gutor came out swinging in game two and never let up. He finished the match with 11 kills, hitting .409 and committing just two hitting errors.

"He is a live arm. That's what he is," senior libero Ricky Mattei said. "Right now we need him. Alex is a guy that makes Danny [O'Dell] a better setter, and right now he is taking pressure off the rest of the offense. You can definitely see his progress."

Gutor's strong arm and offensive talents have been important in giving the Lions additional options while on the attack.

Opponents cannot simply key on Penn State's strong middle and that has made things easier on middle-hitters Keith Kowal and Nate Meerstein.

"His arm on the outside opens up the middle for [Meerstein] and me," Kowal said of Gutor. "He is really helping out the team."

Gutor's offense was not he only thing that stood out in the match. For a good portion of the year, fellow freshman Aaron Smith has been starting ahead of Gutor for defensive purposes.

Last night, the improvements in Gutor's defense were evident with his four digs and two blocks.

"Even more than his hitting, I was impressed with Alex's passing," Penn State men's volleyball coach Mark Pavlik said.

"We are more dynamic when Alex is in over Aaron. If you put his quick arm with Aaron's defense, you get a great player. Tonight Alex passed well."

Gutor's improved defense is no accident.

He has been working hard to learn from Pavlik and assistant coach Dennis Hohenshelt on how to gain some of Smith's skills.

"I have been working on my whole game," Gutor said. "I have had to change my block and defense. I keep working hard on my passing because when I got here it was pretty bad. Dennis and Pav keep telling me the same things over and over, and when I finally get it, I see how it works in the matches."

With that attitude and the eagerness to keep on learning, Gutor has the tools to become a big-time volleyball player, and Ohio State certainly took notice.

"He's got a good upside. There's no doubt about it," Hanson said.

"He's a very skilled volleyball player and should get nothing but better as time goes on."

If Gutor keeps getting better as time goes on this season, Penn State will be tough to handle come tournament time.