While Cael Sanderson’s top-ranked wrestling squad enjoyed a much-needed break prior to the Big Ten Championships in Iowa City this coming weekend, Guy Gadowsky’s boys were resting up as well before they travel to Madison for a big series against Wisconsin this Friday and Saturday. However, a bunch of Nittany Lions were in action over the weekend, including five NFL Combine participants — Christian Hackenberg, Austin Johnson, Carl Nassib, Anthony Zettel, and Jordan Lucas.

Penn State athletics came out on top during a relatively light Friday slate, as men’s volleyball cruised to a straight-set win over the University of Charleston (W.V.) in Rec Hall, while baseball dropped its road opener to SEC powerhouse South Carolina, 7-1, in Columbia. Meanwhile, women’s hockey sealed its ticket to the College Hockey America (CHA) semifinals against Syracuse in Buffalo’s HarborCenter thanks to a two-game sweep (2-0 and 3-2) over RIT at Pegula.

Saturday was a different story, as men’s volleyball was the lone team to register a victory by besting George Mason 3-1 at home. Rob Cooper’s bunch dropped its second-straight contest against the 15th-ranked Gamecocks in lopsided fashion, 16-5. Both lacrosse teams failed to record a win either, as the men’s side finished on the wrong end of a 19-9 shellacking by Villanova in University Park, while the sixth-ranked women’s team watched a close battle versus No. 7 Virginia slip through its fingers in Charlottesville, 16-13. Coquese Washington and the women’s basketball team struggled during a 76-44 loss to Indiana in Bloomington.

It was more of the same for Penn State on Sunday, as baseball put together by far its best showing of the weekend but couldn’t capitalize, falling 4-2 to South Carolina. Men’s basketball ran into a buzzsaw against No. 6 Michigan State, losing 88-57 in East Lansing, but at least Pat Chambers put on a show. Now in his fifth season with the Nittany Lions, Chambers has been known to get a little hot under the collar when he feels his team is being called for too many unwarranted fouls. Chambers was tossed after receiving back-to-back technicals a few minutes before halftime, marking the second time in as many seasons that he’s been sent off early in the Breslin Center.

Despite turning in a 4-7 showing this past weekend, Penn State has the chance to regroup and get back to its winning ways with postseason tournaments right around the corner.