STATE COLLEGE, Pa., Nov. 3, 2001 -- The Penn State men's volleyball team defeated Hawai'i in three games (36-34, 30-22, 30-27) Saturday night at Rec Hall, completing a two-match exhibition series with the Warriors. Zeljko Koljesar (Kitchener, Ontario) paced the Nittany Lions with 26 kills while Kevin Hodge (Dublin, Ohio) and Carlos Guerra (Tamaulipus, Mexico) added 12 and 11, respectively. For Hawai'i, Dean Miladinovic, Eyal Zimet and All-American Costas Theocharidis had 11 kills apiece.

Game one began as a continuation of Friday night's match, with both teams evenly exchanging points. A kill by Hodge made the score 29-26 with Penn State in the lead, but a kill by Theocharidis and a Penn State attacking error tied the score at 29. From then on, the game went back and forth, with Penn State facing five match points before finally ending the game, 36-34, on a Hawai'i attack error.

Hawai'i started off game two quickly jumping ahead 4-1. But behind strong serving from Jason Hawkins (Lake Mary, Fla.) and kills from Guerra and Koljesar, Penn State pulled within one. The Nittany Lions surged ahead when Koljesar went back to the line to serve, sparking a 4-0 run. Penn State never looked back, ending the game on a Koljesar kill, 30-22.

The third game stayed close, with seven ties and Penn State never more than four points ahead throughout. But behind 11 kills from Koljesar, the Nittany Lions pulled off the win, 30-27.

All-American Jos¨¦ Qui?ones (Bayamon, Puerto Rico) ended the evening with 54 assists. The senior also finished with six kills on seven attempts. Defensively, Hodge led all players with eight digs, with Koljesar tallying seven.

The Nittany Lions open up regular season play in January traveling to Columbus, Ohio to take on the Buckeyes of Ohio State. The home opener is slated for Tues., Jan. 29 at 7:30 p.m. against St. Francis at Rec Hall.