May 1, 2011
UnIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The 10th-ranked Penn State men's volleyball team (24-6) has earned the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Championship. The Nittany Lions swept Springfield in the EIVA Championship for their 13th straight conference title on Saturday, April 30 to earn the automatic berth. Penn State will face No. 3 seed Ohio State (24-6) who won the MIVA with a 3-1 victory against Loyola-Chicago.
The Buckeyes and Nittany Lions will meet on Thursday, May 5 at 9 p.m. ET in Penn State's Rec Hall in the second semifinal match. Top-seeded USC takes on No. 4 seed UCSB in the earlier match at 7 p.m. The winners of each semifinal match will meet in the National Championship on Saturday, May 7 at 7 p.m. in Rec Hall.
The USC-UCSB match will be broadcast live on ESPN2 with a simulcast on ESPN3.com. The Penn State-Ohio State match will be streamed live on ESPN3.com and the match will be tape-delayed and air on ESPN2 on Friday, May 6. The National Championship will be broadcast live on ESPN2 with a simulcast on ESPN3.com.
Single match tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for youth and students and $5 for groups of 15 or more. Tickets can be purchased Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Bryce Jordan Center Ticket Office beginning May 2 for walk up customers. Phone orders are also being accepted via 814-865-5555 during the same hours. In addition, all-session tickets are currently on sale for the National Championship. Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for youth, students and senior citizens.
Penn State claimed its 13th consecutive Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) title Saturday night with a three-set sweep of Springfield (25-20, 25-14, 26-24). The Nittany Lions are making their 13th straight and 26th overall NCAA National Semifinal appearance, having captured the national championship title in 1994 and 2008.
The Nittany Lions and Buckeyes are meeting for the third time this season. Ohio State won the first meeting, 3-0, on Feb. 9 in Columbus, but Penn State earned a 3-1 triumph on April 10 in the confines of Rec Hall. Penn State is 65-24-1 all-time against the Buckeyes and the teams last met in the NCAA National Semifinals in 2008 at UC Irvine. Penn State won the match, 3-1.
Penn State last met UCSB on March 11 in Long Beach. The Nittany Lions earned a 3-1 victory against the Gauchos. PSU is 6-8 all-time against UCSB.
The Nittany Lions own a 6-17 record against the Trojans. Penn State and USC last met on May 7, 2009 in the NCAA National Semifinals in Provo, Utah. USC earned a 3-1 victory to advance to the championship match.
For more information on the Penn State men's volleyball team, please visit GoPSUsports.com. The Penn State men's volleyball 2011 season is presented by Rockvale Outlets and The Outlets at Hershey.