There had been six lead changes during Game 3, and Rutgers-Newark led by one.

After a service error by the Scarlet Raiders, Penn State's Max Holt went back to serve with the score tied 28-28.

The Plan: one serve long, one serve short.

The Result: two consecutive aces and the end to a Penn State win.

"Everybody's energy was just kind of down, and I went back there after we side-out and I was like, 'I'm gonna rip one, and I'm gonna drop one short,' "Holt said.

Holt, the sophomore middle hitter that head coach Mark Pavlik considers to be one of the top-five middle hitters in the country, delivered when the game was on the line.

It was a contribution Penn State sorely needed.

"They did a good job when we switched up the lineup a little bit, but what I thought we used in our advantage was our confidence and that we knew that sooner or later we were going to get on a run," outside hitter Alex Gutor said. "Thankfully, Max put it away. So we were just confident, and we weren't panicking and waited 'till that moment happened."

Holt did take care of business. He showed the confidence and poise of a top-tier player. But, against a different, superior opponent, Penn State wouldn't have been able to "wait 'till that moment happened."

However, Holt asserted himself the same way he did closing out the Final Four win last year, and it's something he'll need to do again next week in California.

"[Holt] is one of the best sophomore middles in the country," Pavlik said. "He has to play like that from the first point to the last point.

"You noticed him late in the game, but the things he has to do better are the things nobody notices when he is in the gym, and he is getting better at that."

With words like that for the night's hero, it's scary to think of how great Pavlik believes Holt can become.

"It's gonna sound like a broken record, but my expectations for him, Alex [and] Squeaks [outside hitter Matt Anderson] are much higher than maybe theirs are right now," Pavlik said. "We are gonna put it together, and those guys, once they start to climb that ladder, the sky's the limit."

The sky is a nice target, but last night, just maybe, the Lions needed to aim for Rutgers-Newark.

Holt's last two serves were, and they were what clinched the win.

"I don't know much more to say with Max," Pavlik said. "OK passing night. Good blocking night. We want him to do more. He wants to do more."

And what did Holt think of Pavlik's desire?

"I'd love to do more," he said.