Jan. 22, 2009
University Park, Pa. - The top-ranked and defending national champion Penn State men's volleyball team (3-0, 0-0 EIVA) opens up the 2009 home slate on Friday, Jan. 23 at 7:00 p.m. when it welcomes Ball State to Rec Hall. Gametracker and live video will be available at www.GoPSUsports.com and admission is free.
The Series: Penn State vs. Ball State
Penn State leads Ball State, 54-19, in a series that began in 1977. The last meeting was a three-game Nittany Lion win (30-26, 30-22, 30-17) on March 29, 2008, at Rec Hall. Penn State has claimed the last six meetings in the series.
Outrigger Champions
Penn State captured its second consecutive title at the Hawaii Outrigger Invitational, held Jan. 8-10 in Honolulu. The title is also only the second in program history. The Nittany Lions outlasted then-No. 7 Southern California in five games (27-30, 30-23, 30-19, 29-31, 15-12), swept then-No. 10 Ohio State (30-27, 30-24, 30-19) and topped then-No. 13 Hawaii in four games (30-22, 21-30, 30-22, 30-23). Senior middle hitter Max Holt, junior middle hitter Max Lipsitz, redshirt freshman setter Edgardo Goas and sophomore libero Dennis Del Valle were all named to the Outrigger Invitational All-Tournament team and were joined by Ohio State's Robbie Klein, Hawaii's Josh Walker and USC's Murphy Troy, who was also named the tournament Most Valuable Player.
Raising The Banner
The Nittany Lions captured the 2008 NCAA National Championship title last May in Irvine, Calif., defeating Ohio State in the NCAA National Semifinals (30-21, 26-30, 30-22, 30-17) before advancing on to beat second-ranked Pepperdine in four games (27-30, 33-31, 30-25, 30-23) for the championship. Penn State will raise a banner to the Rec Hall rafters commemorating the achievement on Saturday, Feb. 14 at 7:00 p.m. against Ohio State. It was the second NCAA title in program history, as the team also claimed the championship in 1994.
Still To 30
While women's collegiate volleyball has moved to 25-point games, men's collegiate volleyball will still be played to 30 points in a best-three-out-of-five match format. A team must win by two points in each individual game.
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.