The men's volleyball team notched three victories to win the final four this weekend.

It's not the final four you're thinking of, though.

This was the Preview to the Final Four in Rochester, N.Y., a preseason tournament between the Nittany Lions, USC, Ball State and Rutgers-Newark.

Nevertheless, the Lions left with three solid wins and took another step to its goal of a real NCAA Final Four berth and national championship come May, which Penn State's Rec Hall happens to be hosting.

"We did pretty well, cleaned up some areas that we needed to in the past," senior co-captain Nate Meerstein said. "We kept more balls in play and free balls were converted on this weekend."

The weekend kicked off with a match against Ball State. The Lions fought back from a 2-1 game deficit to win 3-2 (30-24, 25-30, 21-30, 33-31, 15-13).

USC was up next, but it would be more of the same for Penn State. Another 2-1 deficit. Another 3-2 victory (26-30, 30-26, 27-30, 30-23, 15-9).

In the final game yesterday, the Lions handled Rutgers-Newark a little easier, winning that match by a score of 3-1.

Although they weren't the most lopsided volleyball victories, the team is still pleased with its play this weekend.

"I think we played pretty well and showed some heart," senior co-captain Matt Proper said. "We were a little shaky here and there and still gave up stretches of points that we can't do, but for the most part I think we're coming around."

What makes the wins more gratifying is the fact that Penn State was able to take things they went over in practice, and apply them to each of their opponents.

"Our transition game was better and we converted on more opportunities," Penn State men's volleyball coach Mark Pavlik said. "We're starting to get more and more comfortable with each other. All in all, we displayed better all around volleyball, both offensively and defensively."

Proper led the way on the offensive side, leading the team with 38 kills in the three matches. Meerstein continued his solid play leading the team with 11 blocks and converted 34 total kills.

In the end, though, the victories could be credited to a complete team effort, rather than individual statistics.

"I think the wins came from us just being in the gym a little bit more with each other and getting everyone on the same page," Proper said.

"We knew who was taking each ball and overall our cohesiveness was there a little bit more. It was a cleaner performance this weekend."

The team knows it has parts of its game that could use some polish, but at least during the preseason, the coaching staff knows what they're working with.

"This preseason we played pretty good volleyball and learned about everyone on the team," Pavlik said. "That's what you want in the preseason, to get a good feel for the 16 guys we have on the team."

If the team can continue to get better we just may see them in our own preview of the Final Four -- at Rec Hall.