Oct. 10, 2016
Complete 2017 Schedule
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Following a season that brought Penn State men's volleyball its 18th consecutive EIVA regular season conference championship, the Nittany Lions are ready to return to action, releasing the 2017 schedule Monday afternoon. Featuring matchups against nine teams ranked within the final 2016 AVCA DI-II Top 15 Coaches Poll, the competitive slate also includes 15 home dates in historic Rec Hall.
"The race for the EIVA title this year is going to be very interesting," said head coach Mark Pavlik.
Ohio State - defending national champions -, UCLA, UC-Santa Barbara, Stanford, Lewis, Loyola, George Mason, Ball State, and Saint Francis (Pa.) all finished within the top 15 poll last year.
Penn State kicks off the 2017 season traveling to Ohio State for the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge in St. John Arena.
Penn State will open the season against UCLA on Jan. 6, followed by a Friday matchup against USC on Jan 7.
Following the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge, Penn State once again hits the road for a challenging weekend, traveling to play Ball State in Muncie, IN on Jan. 13 followed by a trip to IPFW in Fort Wayne, Ind. the following day Jan. 14.
Opening the season with two weeks on the road, Penn State will make their 2017 home debut Jan. 19th as they host Loyola for a 7 p.m. match in Rec Hall. The Lewis Flyers will come to University Park the following night with a match time slated for 7 p.m.
Following a road match against the Buckeyes in Columbus, Ohio, Penn State will play at home for two straight weekends welcoming Mount Olive (Jan. 27), Coker (Jan. 28) and Saint Francis(Pa.) (Feb. 3) to town.
Penn State will then only play at home twice over the next seven matches (Harvard -Feb. 17, Sacred Heart - Feb. 18) while making trips to NJIT (Feb. 10), Princeton (Feb. 11), Saint Francis (Pa.) (Feb. 14), George Mason (Feb. 24) and Charleston (W.Va) on Feb. 25.
Penn State will host its annual spring break tournament Mar. 3 - Mar. 4 with matches against west coast foes UC-Santa Barbara and Stanford. Penn State will host Cal-Baptist the following week on Mar. 17.
The Nittany Lions will alternate between home and away over the next four weeks ultimately closing out the season at home against Charleston (W.Va.) (Apr. 14) and George Mason (Apr. 15).
The annual EIVA Championship will take place April 20-April 22 at the site of the school receiving the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament.
For the third consecutive year, the NCAA Play-In match will determine the final field for the NCAA tournament. This year's Play-In match is set for Tuesday, May 2 in Columbus Ohio. The 2017 NCAA national championships are May 4-6 and will be hosted by Ohio State University.
The Nittany Lions closed out the 2016 season with a 19-10 overall mark, including a 12-2 record in EIVA action capturing its 28th overall EIVA title.
Penn State lost five seniors from a year ago, with Matt Seifert, Taylor Hammond, Spencer Sauter, Andrew Roberts, and Zack Parik completing their careers in the Blue and White.
Redshirt-senior Matt Callaway, redshirt-junior Aidan Albrecht and senior Chris Nugent (EIVA Co-Player of the Year, First Team All-EIVA, 2016 EIVA Championship All-Tournament team) highlight the returners from last year's team that reached the EIVA semifinals last spring.
Penn State men's volleyball is on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter! Fans can follow the Nittany Lions @PennStateMVBALL or online at www.facebook.com/PennStateMensVolleyball. To view the complete schedule, please visit www.GoPSUSports.com.