Oct. 9, 2008
Complete Schedule in PDF Format
University Park, Pa. - Matches with eight teams ranked in the final AVCA Division I-II Top 15 poll highlight the 2009 Penn State men's volleyball schedule.
From the final poll, the defending national champion Nittany Lions will play No. 3 Long Beach State, No. 4 BYU, No. 7 Ohio State, No. 10 Ball State, No. 11 George Mason, No. 12 Southern California, No. 13 Hawaii and No. 14 Lewis, while also facing several regional and conference foes throughout the season.
"Our schedule will again take us into some tough gyms, which should test us at various points throughout the season," said head coach Mark Pavlik, who is entering his 15th season at the helm of the Nittany Lion program. "Obviously the Outrigger Invitational in Hawaii in early January and the Active Ankle Classic in Long Beach, Calif., in March will provide opportunities to see how we measure up and will help us prepare for the EIVA and NCAA Championships."
Penn State opens the season on the road at the Outrigger Invitational in Honolulu, Hawaii, taking on the host Warriors, Southern California and Ohio State on Thursday-Saturday, Jan. 8-10. The Nittany Lions host the Alumni on Jan. 17 before opening the home schedule on Friday, Jan. 23 with Ball State at 7:00 p.m.
This season's spring trip features another journey west to face BYU and Long Beach State at the Long Beach Active Ankle Classic on Friday and Saturday, March 13-14 in Long Beach, Calif.
The Nittany Lions will take on their traditional Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) Tait division schedule, which includes both home and away match-ups with Juniata, Saint Francis, Springfield, NJIT, Princeton and George Mason. Penn State will also have a home-and-away series with MIVA opponents Ohio State, IPFW, Ball State, Loyola-Chicago.
The EIVA Quarterfinals will be held on Saturday, April 25, with the top two seeds earning a bye, before the EIVA Semifinals and Championship on Thursday and Saturday, April 30 and May 2 on the campus of the top seed.
BYU will host the 2009 National Collegiate Championship on Thursday and Saturday, May 7 and 9 at Smith Fieldhouse in Provo, Utah.
For more information on the Penn State men's volleyball team, please visit www.GoPSUsports.com. The Penn State men's volleyball 2009 season is presented by Rockvale Outlets and The Outlets At Hershey.