NEWARK, N.J. -- Playing in a facility that did not live up to its billing (the Golden Dome is not, in fact, gold-colored) the Penn State men's volleyball team lived up to its billing as the No. 5 team in the country and best squad in the East.

The Nittany Lions made light work of both Indiana-Purdue at Fort Wayne (30-28, 30-26, 30-22) and Ohio State (30-24, 30-20, 30-21) at the Golden Dome Classic.

After twice tying the Penn State rally scoring record for digs with 17, freshman libero Gary Vogel made the record his own on Friday, tallying 18 against the Mastodons.

Sloppy passing plagued the Lions against IPFW, causing head coach Mark Pavlik to address the problem by scheduling a passing practice the next day.

"We were like a pitcher who didn't have his best stuff ... just making a real gritty effort," Pavlik said. "Our passing was a little ragged, but the guys found a way to win."

IPFW stayed close for much of each game before the Lions (12-2, 3-0 EIVA) pulled away. Junior Matt Proper led all players with 17 kills; Proper and co-captain Keith Kowal led the Lions with four blocks each.

The Lions came out on Saturday ready to get off to a good, intense start. The Buckeyes, however, had the same thing in mind and were able to stifle Penn State's attack in the middle. Junior middle hitter Nate Meerstein was limited to just five total attacks in the match, while Kowal had two attacks in the first game that were blocked and tipped back behind him.

As he has done often as of late, setter Dan O'Dell adjusted to the defense and directed his attacks toward the pins. Proper again led the Lions in kills with 15 on 0.333 hitting percentage.

"They committed to stopping Keith and Meers," Pavlik said. "Danny did a good job of adjusting, and started giving the ball to Proper, [Alex] Gutor and [Aaron] Smith."

Penn State out-blocked the Buckeyes 11-8.5, as five different Lions recorded three blocks each. Serving also made a big difference against the Buckeyes; Penn State committed just five service errors compared to Ohio State's 12.

"Both teams were steady for the first 15 points of every game," Pavlik said. "Then we just kicked it into another gear with our serving and blocking."

The Lions have won their last 12 matches, and have not dropped a game in their last five contests.

With each weekend Penn State seems to be gaining more confidence and momentum. And with a trip to California on the horizon, this would be a good time for the Lions to be at the top of their game.

"I think we're a little tired at the halfway point, but I really like where we're at," Pavlik said.