Dec. 9, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The seventh-seeded Nittany Lion women's volleyball team (28-5) travels to Des Moines for a showdown with Hawaii (28-1) in the NCAA regional semifinals on Friday at 8:30 p.m. (Live coverage on ESPN3).
The winner of the Penn State-Hawaii match will move on to face either No. 2 Minnesota (28-4) or Illinois (21-12) on Saturday in the regional final at 4 p.m. live on ESPNU.
"Well, it's always great to still be playing this time of year," head coach Russ Rose said. "We look forward to playing against a great opponent in Hawaii. We've played against each other a number of times over the years. Their performance last weekend; coming back and beating TCU, and then beating the SEC champion Texas A&M, 3-0, on their home court was a clear indication that they are playing great volleyball this time of year."
Penn State enters the weekend after knocking off Howard (3-0) and Dayton (3-1) inside Rec Hall in the opening two rounds of the tournament. The Nittany Lions last met Hawaii in the 2009 national semifinals. Penn State is 5-0 against the Rainbow Wahine all-time.
Under the NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament began its current 64-team setup, the Nittany Lions have advanced to the third round of the tournament 13 straight years. The Lions have played in the regional finals in eight of the last nine seasons.
The NCAA field has been trimmed to 16 teams. Penn State's quest for a return to the national semifinals goes through Wells Fargo Arena this weekend. First up is a clash with Hawaii on Friday.
Take a look through preview content to get ready for the regional round of the NCAA Tournament.