At 24-1, and atop the coaches' poll, the Penn State men's volleyball team is on pace to be the No. 1 seed in the national championships.
Boasting the most efficient offense in the country, the Nittany Lions have won 73 out of 83 games played. It would seem this year's squad is nearly perfect.
But it has a weakness.
It remained largely under wraps early in the season, hidden behind a vaunted offense and weaker competition. When the team saw its perfect season go up in smoke against George Mason on March 7, however, it came screaming into focus.
Penn State does not block consistently well. And if its opponent does, the Lions will struggle.
The Patriots are the best blocking team in the nation, averaging 3.4 blocks per game. Led by R.J. Goubeaux and Brandon McLaughlin -- two of the EIVA's leaders in blocks -- George Mason never allowed Matt Anderson to get into a groove. While Penn State's main offensive weapon finished the match with 34 kills, the Patriots' wall forced him to take 60 swings.
Anderson hit .300 on the match -- almost 100 points below his season average. And without their leading points producer, the Lions failed to keep up with Kyle Gramit and George Mason's attack.
It's no surprise that keeping Anderson under control will slow down Penn State's offense. Averaging 5.64 kills per game, Anderson is one of the most talented attackers in the NCAA, so keeping him under wraps should be every defense's primary focus.
In the first two games of Friday's match, Ohio State sent two or three blockers to square off against Anderson every time a set came his way. He hit just .100 on his first 20 swings, recording six errors, as Penn State dropped its first home game since January.
Slowing down Penn State's offense, though, is only half the equation. The Lions average 2.9 blocks per game, which is just about average for the top-10 teams in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) polls.
Lately, however, the blocking has been slow to stop outside attacks. In the second game of Friday's match against Ohio State, Penn State was outblocked, 5-0. The Buckeyes, behind outside hitters Brett Versen and Robbie Klein, hit .441 for the game.
In the team's signature win against then-No. 3 Long Beach State, Penn State coach Mark Pavlik stressed that the blocking game needed the most improvement. Outside hitter Paul Lotman and opposite Dean Bittner tallied 29 and 27 kills, respectively, and the team hit .289 on the match -- more than 100 points higher than the season average for Penn State's opposition.
It appears, then, the trick to defeating Penn State is blocking consistently and attacking relentlessly from the outside. While it is unlikely that another EIVA opponent will be able to deploy this strategy, its competition for the national championship will.
Although it doesn't block well, No. 2 Cal State-Northridge sports a spectacular offense, attacking on a .326 clip. Ball State and Ohio State are the top contenders to come out of the MIVA, and while both teams block remarkably well, the Buckeyes showed last weekend they will give Penn State the most trouble.
The biggest threat to unseat the Lions is No. 3 Brigham Young, which has been near the top of the AVCA poll all season long. The Cougars average 3.0 blocks per game and can attack from anywhere on the court, hitting on a .316 clip.
But there is a positive working for the Lions. Long Beach State, which averages 3.1 blocks per game and boasts the second-most efficient offense in the country with a .328 team hitting percentage, perfectly fit the profile of a team -- like BYU -- that would keep Penn State under control.
And less than three weeks ago, the Lions defeated Long Beach on its home court.
Dan Rorabaugh is a sophomore majoring in journalism and is a Collegian men's volleyball writer. His e-mail address is dtr5014@psu.edu.
