Looking back on the season the Penn State men's volleyball team has had, middle hitter Max Holt sees one glaring blemish.
Twenty-six wins.
And one loss.
The one loss came March 7 against then-No. 14 George Mason, snapping the Nittany Lions' 18-match winning streak and their bid at a perfect season.
George Mason's victory in the match's first game also brought an end to Penn State's remarkable stretch of 41 consecutive games won.
"I think everyone on this team wants a little revenge," Holt said. "Everyone in the country knows we're the better team."
This weekend, it is likely the Lions will have a shot at redemption.
Penn State and George Mason (19-7, 9-3 EIVA) claimed the top spots in the EIVA tournament, and after No. 3 Princeton and No. 4 St. Francis (Pa.) went down in the quarterfinals, the two appear destined for a rubber match in Rec Hall on Saturday.
The loss in March came when the volleyball world thought Penn State not only could -- but would -- finish the regular season undefeated.
Even George Mason head coach Fred Chao said, less than a week before his team knocked off Penn State, that it would take an upset of the greatest proportions for the Lions to fall.
"The other team would have to play at their very best, and Penn State would have to play at their very worst for them to lose," Chao said at the time.
Whether the Lions did, in fact, play their worst against the Patriots is debatable, but one thing is for sure. They haven't forgotten about that match.
One of the best blocking teams in the nation, George Mason stifled Matt Anderson and the high-flying Penn State offense.
R.J. Goubeaux and Hudson Bates led the way as the Patriots recorded 16 blocks and held the Lions to a .266 hitting percentage -- more than 130 points lower than their season average.
"It sucked when it happened," middle hitter Max Lipsitz said, "but it brought us down back to Earth, and ultimately, I think that helped us. It was a good learning experience that showed us we needed to do more blocking work.
"So we went back and looked at more film, and worked out the small kinks of the system."
