University Park, Pa., Jan. 30, 2004 The 11th-ranked Penn State men¡¯s volleyball team downed Rutgers-Newark in three games (30-25, 30-27, 30-27) Friday night at Rec Hall to pick up its first Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) win of the season. The Nittany Lions improve to 4-3 for the year and 1-0 in league play while the Scarlet Raiders fall to 2-4 and 1-1 in the EIVA.

¡°We played a patient match and stuck to our game plan¡± said head coach Mark Pavlik. ¡°We played well offensively and defensively and I¡¯m pleased with the effort.¡±

Sophomore Kevin Wentzel (Pittsburgh, Pa.) led the Lions with 15 kills on 27 attempts to hit .444 while junior Keith Kowal (Reading, Pa.) and sophomores Matt Proper (Guys Mills, Pa.) and Nate Meerstein (Pittsburgh, Pa.) all recorded 11 kills. Penn State outhit the Scarlet Raiders, .324 to .264.

Sophomore Dan O¡¯Dell (Rochester, N.Y.) directed the Penn State offense with 49 assists while senior libero Ricky Mattei (San Juan, Puerto Rico) posted a match-high nine digs.

Rutgers-Newark won the blocking battle, 11.0 to 4.0, as Kowal, O¡¯Dell and Meerstein all posted two blocks for the Lions and Proper and freshman Aaron Smith (Richmond, Va.) each added one. Proper also tallied all three Penn State service aces.

Andrew Pink led Rutgers-Newark with 18 kills while Aleks Ondelj dished out 39 assists and added a team-high six digs. Henry Richardson recorded six blocks to lead the Scarlet Raiders.

The Nittany Lions remain at home on Tuesday, Feb. 3 when they face Juniata at 7:00 p.m. at Rec Hall.

Visit the men¡¯s volleyball page at www.GoPSUsports.com for more information.