STATE COLLEGE, Pa., March 11, 2002 - The fourth-ranked Nittany Lions pushed their win streak to 13 games with a five-game victory (24-30, 30-28, 30-25, 30-25, 15-8) over eighth-ranked Ball State. The match marked the first time that the Lions had lost game one but come back to win the match. Penn State has not lost since Jan. 18 when it fell to UCLA in three games. The Lions improve to 14-2 on the season, and a perfect 9-0 at Rec Hall, while the Cardinals fall to 14-3.

Junior Carlos Guerra (Tamaulipus, Mexico) set a new season-high in kills with 28 in the match. Four other Lions notched double-digit kills including junior opposite Zeljko Koljesar (Kitchener, Ontario) with 19 and junior middle Zach Slenker (Dallastown, Pa.) with 14, while senior Jason Hawkins (Lake Mary, Fla.) and sophomore Norm Keil (St. James, N.Y.) tallied 11 and 10, respectively.

Koljesar, tallying his first double-double of the season, let Penn State in digs with 10 while Guerra and sophomore libero Ricky Mattei (San Juan, Puerto Rico) added eight and seven, respectively. As a team, Penn State outdug the Cardinals 33 to 27 but lost the blocking war 12.5-10. Keil, Slenker and Hawkins each recorded four blocks to lead Penn State in the win.

As a team, Penn State outhit Ball State .401 to .331. On the season, the Lions are 13-0 when leading in attack percentage and a perfect 14-0 when hitting above the .250 mark. Keil led the Lions against Ball State, hitting at a .600 clip in the win. Senior setter Jos¨¦ Qui?ones (Bayamon, Puerto Rico) directed the Penn State offense in the win, notching 72 assists while also adding six kills, three digs and three blocks.

Ball State was led by 6-8 junior outside hitter Kyle Weindel with 22 kills on 40 attempts (.375). Sophomore Keith Schunzel directed the Cardinal offense with 65 assists while 6-9 senior middle Paul Fasshauer tallied six blocks for Ball State.

Penn State remains at home for their next match, meeting up with Rutgers-Newark on Friday, March 15 at 7:30 p.m. The following day, the Lions take on NJIT beginning at 4:00 p.m. in the South Gym of Rec Hall on the University Park campus.

For complete match and season statistics, please visit the men's volleyball page at www.GoPSUsports.com.