Not only has the Penn State men's volleyball team demonstrated toughness and resilience through its first seven matches of the season, it has proved that its blocking defense is a force with which to be reckoned.

So far this season, the sixth-ranked Nittany Lions have outblocked their opponents 114.5-69.5.

Leading the team in blocks is co-captain Nate Meerstein, who is averaging 1.66 blocks per game.

Penn State began its 2005 season at the Hawaii Outrigger Invitational and faced three of the top teams in the country: defending national champion Brigham Young, Hawaii and Lewis. Although they lost five-game heartbreakers to Hawaii and BYU, the Lions dominated in the blocking category and established themselves as a premier defensive unit.

This is no surprise to Penn State coach Mark Pavlik, who has acknowledged his team's blocking prowess since its preseason matches against Ohio State in November.

"If you're a good blocking team, you're never out of the game," Pavlik said.

Never was this more evident than in the dramatic victory over No. 12 Ohio State on Saturday.

In the fourth game of the match, Penn State posted 7.5 blocks and rallied to come back from a 24-29 deficit. Sophomore outside hitter Aaron Smith stepped up to the challenge and nailed five crucial serves, knowing that one error would cost Penn State the game.

Junior setter Dan O'Dell and Meerstein then stuffed four huge blocks, the last of which tied the match 29-29. An Alex Gutor kill sealed the victory.

Penn State set a season-high block total with 19.5 for the match. Meerstein and O'Dell had seven blocks each, Smith recorded five and junior opposite Matt Proper and co-captain Keith Kowal notched four apiece.

"It's much easier to play defense around such great blockers," Gutor said.

Ironically, after the Rutgers-Newark match the previous night, Pavlik remarked: "We may have set a four-game match record with 18 blocks, but I think we can be even better." Little did he know that the next evening Penn State would set a season high blocking record and come away victorious by shutting out the Buckeyes' offense for seven points in a row.

In the Rutgers-Newark match, the Lions' were without senior co-captain and All-American Keith Kowal, who was inactive due to a lower back injury. The team, however, went on to post an impressive 18 blocks without his powerful middle presence.

Coming into this season, Kowal ranked fifth on the Nittany Lion all-time career blocking list with 333 total career blocks. Currently, he is averaging 1.18 blocks per game.

Sophomore middle hitter Kyle Masterson replaced Kowal and played a stellar match, recording a career-high six blocks. Meerstein led the team with nine blocks, one shy of his career high. Smith posted a career-high seven blocks, O'Dell recorded six and Proper chipped in four.

Even though blocking is a solid and prominent part of the Lions' arsenal, it is definitely not neglected at practices. Pavlik runs blocking drills to ensure that the players keep improving and take nothing for granted.

As the season progresses and the Lions face more top-ranked teams like UCLA, Southern California and UC-Irvine, the reliable blocking defense will have to step up even more.

"We're going to have to keep getting better by the end of the year because we're going to see some great serving teams. We're going to have to score points with our blocking," Pavlik said.