For match-going fans of the Penn State men's volleyball team, there may be some confusion as to who's running the show during the Nittany Lions contests.

The confusion is understandable, though, as head coach Mark Pavlik -- often clad in a tie and sweater vest -- remains seated on the end of the bench, calmly charting serve-receive patterns. As Pavlik does this, assistant coach Dennis Hohenshelt can be found shouting information to players on the court, orchestrating substitutions or just joking around with the Lions on the sideline.

Pavlik and Hohenshelt do not have the strictly defined roles that, say, a baseball manager and pitching coach would, but the two both have their respective fortes.

"I specialize in the point-scoring aspects: our serving, blocking, our defense," Hohenshelt said. Pavlik, a former Penn State setter, is responsible for the direction of the offense. During timeouts and between games Pavlik can often be found talking with setter Dan O'Dell about the team's offensive strategies, while Hohenshelt might address the team's other needs.

"We both sort of throw ideas around as far as what's going on at both ends," Hohenshelt said.

Hohenshelt, in his ninth year at Penn State, will prepare the scouting reports for tonight's match against Mercyhurst in Rec Hall and tomorrow's against Ball State in the South Gym, both at 7 p.m. Hohenshelt is responsible for preparing the No. 4 Lions (17-3, 5-0 EIVA) for their opponents.

"I put the scouting reports together; my first priority is to find how to stop the other team ... I break down the video during the season."

He and Pavlik have found success in their plans to stop opponents; the Lions have fared better through their first 20 matches only twice during Pavlik's 11-year tenure as head coach. Of the three losses this season, those to Hawaii and Brigham Young came in the fifth game, and the Lions avenged their loss to the Cougars later on in the season.

The third loss this season was an eye-opener, according to Pavlik. The coach joked that he should have worn a flak jacket to protect himself from the shrapnel coming off the arms of the Lions in the form of lousy passes in a sweep at the hands of then-No. 1 UCLA on March 8.

"Whether or not we can improve our passing against physical serving teams will determine if we'll be able to seriously contend for the NCAA Championship," Pavlik said.

But before the Lions can look ahead to a return trip to Los Angeles for the NCAAs in May, they must first deal with the 10 regular season matches remaining on their schedule. And there's little doubt that neither Pavlik nor Hohenshelt, regardless of their different specialties, will allow their team to forget that.