Princeton, N.J., March 27, 2004 -- The Penn State men¡¯s volleyball team topped Princeton in three games (30-27, 30-21, 30-28) Saturday afternoon in Princeton, N.J. to improve to 14-6 and 7-1 in the EIVA Tait.

Junior Keith Kowal (Reading, Pa.) led the Nittany Lions with 17 kills on .773 hitting while freshman Alex Gutor (Irving, Texas) and sophomore Nate Meerstein (Pittsburgh, Pa.) posted 14 and 10 kills, respectively.

Sophomore setter Dan O¡¯Dell (Rochester, N.Y.) directed the Penn State offense with 42 assists and senior libero Ricky Mattei (San Juan, Puerto Rico) tallied a match-high seven digs.

Penn State recorded four team blocks to Princeton¡¯s five, with O¡¯Dell, Meerstein and Kowal providing two block assists apiece for the Nittany Lions.

Sophomore Matt Proper (Guys Mills, Pa.) torched the Tigers from behind the service line, providing four of Penn State¡¯s seven aces in the match, a career-high for Proper.

Penn State returns home on March 30 to face Big Ten-foe Ohio State at 7:00 p.m. at Rec Hall.

Please visit www.GoPSUsports.com for more information on the Penn State men¡¯s volleyball team.