The scene at Rec Hall during Game 1 of last night's Penn State men's volleyball match against Ohio State could aptly be summed up in one word: dead. The players, the fans, all of them void of emotion for the initial game and the No. 9 Nittany Lions found themselves down in the match, 1-0.

The transformation came as the teams switched sides for the start of Game 2 and the gesture proved to be symbolic of a changing in the tides of play. And for the remaining three games of the match, the Lions (13-6, 9-0 EIVA) washed out the No. 11 Buckeyes (15-7, 3-2 MIVA), winning 3-1 (25-30, 30-25, 30-20, 30-24).

Last night's match was Penn State's first home match since March 3, and with the win, the Lions took the season series against the Buckeyes, two matches to one.

The Lions only managed to hit .088 in Game 1, while Ohio State could only bang out a .121 hitting effort.

"I expected us to be a little bit rusty to start with and I think we were," Penn State men's volleyball coach Mark Pavlik said. "In between Games 1 and 2 we said, 'Let's keep plugging away.' All of the sudden we started to knock the rust off. We started to block some balls, and I thought the offense really came together."

The Lions hit at a .485 clip in Game 2 and maintained the offensive pressure with the help of senior co-captain Matt Proper. Proper tallied a game-high 24 kills at a .462 average. The 6-foot-6 outside hitter led the Lions to .317 hitting for the match.

"I think we just settled down [after Game 1]," Proper said. "Obviously it's different playing them than NYU and we just got comfortable with the guys on the floor against a tougher competitor."

When Proper was not punishing the Ohio State defense, senior outside hitter Kevin Wentzel was able to make an impact and picked up his season-high in kills (14) while chipping in six digs.

Dishing to Proper and Wentzel was sophomore setter Luke Murray, who was making his first career start at Rec Hall. Murray, who is filling in for injured senior Dan O'Dell, wasted little time and was one assist shy of his career high (60). Dubbed "The Common Man" by Pavlik, for his less-than-gigantic 6-foot frame, Murray was still able to block seven balls.

Murray's seven blocks contributed to Penn State's 18.5 team blocks, compared to Ohio State's 11.5 team blocks. The Lions' block helped prevent Ohio State's standout Stuart Katz from impacting the match.

Katz has been a difference-maker in matches against Penn State this season. When Penn State wins he is generally subdued, but when Ohio State wins he stars.

Last night Katz managed 13 kills at .194 hitting, which pales in comparison to his 28 kill, .400 hit percentage effort in Ohio State's victory over the Lions on Jan. 20.

"We tried to get Proper on him, we tried to get [Nate Meerstein] on him," Pavlik said. "I thought [assistant coach] Dennis [Hohenshelt] did a good job defensively tonight, getting our block in the right place. We're big enough when our feet are underneath us and we get across the net, we're a tough blocking team."