STATE COLLEGE, Pa., February 9, 2002 - Fifth-ranked Penn State downed Princeton in a hour-long three-game match (30-12, 30-24, 30-25) Saturday afternoon at Rec Hall. The Lions increase their winning streak to seven games and stand 8-2 overall, 4-0 in EIVA Tait division play. Princeton falls to 1-4 on the season, 1-1 in the Tait division.

Junior middle hitter Zach Slenker (Dallastown, Pa.) paced the Lions with 13 kills on 18 attempts with one error (.667) while junior outside hitter Carlos Guerra (Tamaulipus, Mexico) recorded 10 kills and junior outside hitter Kevin Hodge (Dublin, Ohio) added nine. Overall, Penn State tallied 22 more kills (60-38) than the Tigers while outhitting them .484 to .282 for the match.

Penn State also won the battle at the net, outblocking Princeton 7-4. Sophomore middle hitter Norm Keil (St. James, N.Y.) led the way for the Lions, with five blocks while sophomore Nate Matthews (Rochester, N.Y.) and Guerra tallied two apiece.

But perhaps the biggest story of the afternoon was Penn State's performance from behind the service line. The Lions, who have been averaging 14.4 service errors a match, committed only eight errors on the afternoon while recording seven aces. Slenker tallied three of those aces, one in each game.

Matthews led the Penn State offense for most of the match, dishing out 37 assists, a season-high, while adding three digs and two blocks. Senior Jos¨¦ Qui?ones (Bayamon, Puerto Rico) chipped in 12 assists in the first stanza for the Lions.

Defensively, the Lions outdug the Tigers 31-18, with junior Zeljko Koljesar (Kitchener, Ontario) notching five and Qui?ones and sophomore Alex Weaver (Monroeville, Pa.) recording four apiece.

The Lions remain home for their seventh-straight home match at Rec Hall on Wednesday, Feb. 13, against East Stroudsburg. Match time is set for 7:30 p.m.

For complete game statistics, visit the men's volleyball homepage at www.GoPSUsports.com .