UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State opens the National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Championship with a match at Daemen in the first round Friday at 7 p.m. The winner of the match advances to compete in the eight-team bracket at Ohio State’s Covelli Center on May 8-12.
Penn State and Daemen are battling for the spot as the seventh-seeded team in the bracket. The Nittany Lions enter at 14-15 overall after sweeping their way through the EIVA Tournament with 3-0 wins over Harvard, NJIT, and Princeton. The Wildcats are 15-12 and earned an automatic bid with wins over Long Island and Saint Francis to win the NEC Tournament. This is the first season in which the NEC has an automatic bid to the NC Tournament.
Friday marks the first-ever NCAA Tournament match between Penn State and Daemen as the Wildcats are making their first appearance in the postseason event. The Nittany Lions are set to play in the tournament for the 35th time.
Penn State has played Daemen just once in program history. The Nittany Lions swept the Wildcats at Rec Hall in 2023. The Wildcats were playing just their second match as a Division I program.