Going back to serve against No. 12 Ohio State in front of a live television audience, Matt Proper probably never even considered the possibility.

Like an actor going on stage and forgetting his lines, the junior opposite for the Penn State men's volleyball team tossed the ball up for the serve, only to hit it into the ground just 15 feet in front of him.

Instead of looking down, frowning and listening to the shouts of an angry coach, Proper was met with laughs from all around. There were no attempts to hide the smiles on the faces of teammates on the court and from the Nittany Lions on the sideline, and not even Proper bothered to mask a sheepish smile.

"Uncommon things happen in this sport, and sometimes they're just so out of place that you can't help but laugh," Penn State coach Mark Pavlik said.

"In situations like that you've gotta laugh," co-captain Nate Meerstein said. "Many people respond better to laughing that stuff off and forgetting about it instead of jumping up and shouting."

No, jumping and shouting in anger will not be coming from the Penn State sideline in the near future.

Pavlik is as laid back as coaches come, and these Lions won't be the ones to make the atmosphere any more intense.

Even so, the sixth-ranked Lions (5-2, 1-0 EIVA) know when it's time for business.

"We're laid back, and we do like to have fun, but we also know when to be serious and not be joking around," Meerstein said.

The Lions knew to be serious in the fourth game against the Buckeyes on Saturday. The team strung off a seven-point run that began with a Meerstein and Dan O'Dell block at 29-24, and concluded with an Alex Gutor kill to give Penn State a 31-29 win in the game, and a 3-1 victory in the match.

Meerstein said that even though he might not outwardly show it, each player puts the pressure on himself when the match is on the line.

But after the victory, it was back to business as usual for the Lions. That, however, does not look like business in any usual sense for most any other team.

Proper made light of his error -- as well as his five other service errors on the night -- by acknowledging he made "a few" mistakes on the serve. His coach and a few teammates again did not mask their grins.

"I don't think you need to take yourself seriously all the time," Pavlik said. "You work hard at it, strive to achieve excellence, but it's a game."

The light atmosphere is not limited to matches, though. Unlike most teams, this squad does not look at practice as a laborious three-hour event at the end of the day.

"Volleyball itself is a fun sport to play," co-captain Keith Kowal said. "You just go up and hit the ball as hard as you can.

"The coaches do a good job of keeping things interesting [at practice], mixing it up all the time."

Meerstein agrees that at this point in the season, practice is not the chore it may be for other teams.

"We all look forward to coming here and seeing each other -- it's fun," he said.

Meerstein says this before practice officially begins, as Gutor relaxes on a training bench, Kowal fields playful comments about a haircut and flat-footed practice serves fly harmlessly out of bounds.

"If we can laugh at ourselves, then we're in good shape," Pavlik said.

With this talented group, Pavlik can rest assured that opposing teams will not be laughing at the Lions, too.