Against Springfield (1-5), the Lions (7-2) relied on solid offensive output from their big hitters up front. As a team, Penn State hit 0.364 to Springfield's 0.070 for the match. Sophomore outside hitter Alex Gutor led Penn State with a match-high 14 kills and senior co-captain Keith Kowal and junior opposite Matt Proper each posted eight.
The Lions' blocking defense dominated the Pride, as Penn State recorded 16 team blocks to Springfield's four. Kowal led the Lions with nine stuffs and played a tremendous match, showing no signs of the lower back injury that has bothered him for the past couple of weeks. Proper added seven blocks, setter Dan O'Dell tied his career high with six and co-captain Nate Meerstein posted five.
But while the Lions gladly took a win against the third-ranked team in Division III, they knew that the championship match against the Cougars would be the true test of their abilities and determination.
"I was concerned, because against Springfield it was like getting into a batting cage with balls coming at you at 65 miles per hour. Then against BYU they're coming at 95 miles per hour," Pavlik said.
BYU may not have been hitting balls at 95 mph, but the Cougars came out on fire and the Lions scrambled to find their rhythm in games one and two.
"We didn't just lose the first two games," Pavlik said. "We got beat up."
However, the Lions regained momentum in game three, after back-to-back aces from Proper opened the Penn State lead to 14-9. The Lions proceeded to outhit the Cougars in game three, 0.522 to 0.276.
"The biggest thing we did was keep the faith and not panic. The tide started to turn in the third game and we regained some control," Pavlik said.
Game four was perhaps the most hotly contested of the match. Both teams frequently exchanged points as there were nine ties and four lead changes.
"I told [assistant coach] Dennis [Hohenshelt] before game four that this might be the biggest character game of the year for us right now, knowing that it was a game we had to win," Pavlik said.
The Lions responded to every BYU scoring surge with an answer of their own. Proper racked up nine kills in the game and Penn State again outhit BYU, 0.500 to 0.394.
Unlike their first encounter in Hawaii, the momentum going into the fifth and final game shifted Penn State's way.
"After we played as well as we did in games three and four, I knew all we had to do was stay consistent with our offense and serving and hopefully get a couple of points on blocks," Pavlik said.
Much to the chagrin of the Cougars, sophomore Ryan Walthall served back-to-back aces to put Penn State up 6-4 in game five. Although the Lions had five service errors in the game, they recorded two blocks and eight kills on 10 opportunities, with no errors. Kills by Meerstein and Gutor put the Lions up 14-10, then an O'Dell solo block sealed the comeback victory for the Lions.
"In game five, our offense did what it normally does, but better. We were consistent and hit 0.800, and when our guys needed to step up most, they did," Pavlik said.
Proper recorded 18 kills in the match and was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Meerstein and Kowal were also named to the All-Tournament team.
"BYU played a physical match, and we rose to the occasion. We're going to have to be prepared for more teams that play like that in the next month, especially UCLA. I think we'll be ready," Pavlik said.
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