BRONXVILLE, N.Y., February 23, 2002 - The fifth-ranked Penn State men's volleyball team needed five games (30-20, 28-30, 27-30, 30-23, 15-11) to defeat Concordia Saturday night in Bronxville, N.Y. This is the first five-game match of the season for the Lions, who improve to 12-2 overall, 7-0 in the EIVA.

"We faced some adversity, and it was great that we had to do that," said head coach Mark Pavlik. "We hadn't faced that since Hawaii. The gym was noisy, the crowd was great, it was a good win for us. We did the things we needed to do in the fifth game, like play good defensively and it was a great win for us."

The Lions, playing in their first 15-point game of the season, were down 7-8 at the side change but came back to take the game, 15-11, for the match victory. Penn State was led by junior outside hitter Carlos Guerra (Tamaulipus, Mexico) with 20 kills and 12 digs, his second double-double of the season. Sophomore Norm Keil (St. James, N.Y.) added 14 kills while senior Jason Hawkins (Lake Mary, Fla.) and junior Zach Slenker (Dallastown, Pa.) each tallied 12.

Junior opposite Zeljko Koljesar (Kitchener, Ontario) did not make the trip due to illness, forcing Penn State to shuffle their lineup. Sophomore Alex Weaver (Monroeville, Pa.) filled in for three games on the right side, notching eight kills, with Hawkins taking over duties for the remaining two stanzas.

Leading the way defensively for the Lions was sophomore Ricky Mattei (San Juan, Puerto Rico) who recorded a season-high 16 digs on the night. Guerra added 12 while senior setter Jos¨¦ Qui?ones (Bayamon, Puerto Rico) tallied eight. Penn State led in the digging war, 55-45, but for only the fourth time all season, Penn State was outblocked, 12.5-10.5. Keil led the way with seven stuffs while Qui?ones tallied five and Slenker and Guerra recorded three apiece.

Qui?ones directed the Penn State offense with 60 assists. As a team, the Lions hit .367 while the Clippers hit at a .362 clip.

Penn State returns home Friday, March 1 to face the Ohio State Buckeyes in Rec Hall beginning at 7:30 p.m. The match can be heard locally on 1450 AM WMAJ or on the web at www.GoPSUsports.com.

--LIONS--