Mark Pavlik brought out something special for the men's volleyball team's practice Tuesday.

The Penn State coach wheeled out a pair of two-foot-high platforms and set them at the front corners of one of the courts. On each of the boxes stood an attacker, who practiced spikes while a pair of Nittany Lions on the other side of the net practiced blocking.

The drill aimed to fix one of the biggest weaknesses exposed by No. 1 Penn State's visit to Long Beach last weekend. Although the Lions defeated then-No. 3 Long Beach State and regained the top spot in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll, the five-game match provided the team with plenty to work on.

"Our blocking wasn't where we wanted it to be," opposite Ryan Sweitzer said.

"I think we may have outblocked them, but we still have a long way to go."

Penn State did win the battle at the net against the 49ers, 14-10. Led by a career-high nine stuffs by middle hitter Max Holt, the Lions held their own against a powerful Long Beach front line, headed by the nation's leader in blocks, Dan Alexander.

Even though Penn State won the statistical category, Pavlik said the team could have done much better in defending the 49ers' one-two punch from the outside. Outside hitter Paul Lotman and opposite Dean Bittner combined for 56 kills, relentlessly attacking the sidelines throughout the match and powering spikes through the arms of Penn State's blockers.

"We could have had more chances to control the tempo of the game," Pavlik said. "Those two killed us on the antennas."

In response, Pavlik brought out the platforms in the team's first practice since returning from its West Coast swing.

The high point of attack provided by the dais means sharper angles of the kills, which call for quicker reaction times and precise hand positioning by the defenders.

Pavlik said the coaching staff uses the stages throughout the season, and its goal for now is to take the team's blocking to the next level. The players are doing a great job, he said, but there's always room for improvement.

"We're not going to change directions now on what we've been doing all year," Pavlik said.

"What they're doing so far is making our team very successful, and right now they're doing the right things off the court."

The team feels it's still on track to achieve its ultimate goal of winning a national championship.

Outside hitter and team captain Jay Stauffer said the experience of playing Long Beach out West means more to the team's future than anything.

"We wanted to play well against them and challenge a great team in their building," Stauffer said.

"I think the biggest thing we picked up from playing them was the experience of playing in a final four-type match."