Mark Pavlik is unsatisfied.

Almost a month into the season and six matches under its belt, the No. 7 Penn State men's volleyball team has not found a way to fully please its extremely picky coach.

Don't mistake his meaning, however. He's happy and he's hopeful for the future. But underneath it all, he knows his team can play better.

Last night in Rec Hall, the Nittany Lions defeated the Juniata Eagles, 3-0 (30-28, 30-21, 30-23). Their play, however, failed to excite the mediocre crowd and did nothing to truly impress their coach.

"We've got to realize that we've got to come out and assert ourselves in warm-up," Pavlik said. "We can't just walk on the court and expect to all of a sudden to flip a switch and the next thing you know, the intensity is there.

"You want to talk about probably the preparation to play. You are or you aren't.

During the first game of the match, the team was extremely characteristic of how they've been all season. The team made six errors in the first half of the game, hit .267 and had 2.5 total team blocks.

In the next game, the Lions (4-2, 1-0 EIVA) were an entirely different team. They made two errors, hit .696 and jumped their team blocks to 5.5. It's this stark contrast between the two games that is baffling Pavlik the most.

"I wish I had an answer for that because I could definitely make a lot of money," Pavlik said. "Until somebody hits us in the nose with the two by four of competition, it seems we don't take anything seriously."

At the end of each match, however, the team looks to be very strong. The offense and defense are playing well, as hitting percentage is on the rise and blocks continue to stay consistent.

With Pavlik breathing down their necks, the players are seeing that they need to change both their attitudes and play if they wish to be around in April. Sophomore outside hitter Matt Anderson, who was tied for the team high in kills last night with 14, still found fault in his play.

"I felt that we almost didn't need me tonight, because the first game, as Pav will tell you, I didn't hit that well but we still won," Anderson said. "I'm disappointed. I'll work harder in the next couple of days."

Knowing that something is wrong is the first step for the team. Even though they beat Juniata (3-2, 0-1 EIVA) in straight games, Pavlik is hoping for more and will be unsatisfied until his team plays at the level he knows it can reach.