UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's volleyball team and head coach Mark Pavlik have announced the upcoming schedule for 2020 season, which features several marquee matches both at Rec Hall and on the road against some of the top nonconference programs in the country.
"We want to prepare for the best competition by playing the best competition," Pavlik said. "Our schedule will once again feature some of the best teams in the country so we can challenge ourselves and become the best team we can be."
The Nittany Lions' nonconference slate includes the likes of BYU, Loyola Chicago, Lewis, UCLA, USC, Ball State, Ohio State, UC Santa Barbara, defending national champion Long Beach State, UC San Diego, UC Irvine, and Purdue Fort Wayne. 11 of those 12 teams were ranked in the AVCA Top 15 poll during the 2019 season.
Penn State will also play its standard 14 matches within the competitive EIVA against Princeton, George Mason, St. Francis, NJIT, Harvard, Sacred Heart, and Charleston.
The Nittany Lions begin the year with four road matches between Jan. 10-18, two at BYU and then one each at Loyola Chicago and Lewis, before returning to Rec Hall to open the home schedule hosting the Big Ten/Pac 12 Challenge with four matches featuring UCLA, USC, and Ohio State Jan. 24-26.
PSU hosts Ball State and Ohio State Jan. 31-Feb. 1 before then heading to Columbus, Ohio for the Big Ten/Big West Challenge hosted by the Buckeyes Feb. 6-8. The Nittany Lions will face UC Santa Barbara and Long Beach State.
EIVA play begins Feb. 14-15 when the Nittany Lions host Princeton and NJIT at Rec Hall. Three road conference matches follow at Sacred Heart, Harvard, and St. Francis between Feb. 21-25.
George Mason and Charleston come to Rec Hall Feb. 28-29 before Penn State heads back to Columbus again, this time to face the Buckeyes in a standard nonconference bout March 8.
The Nittany Lions head to California between March 11-13 for matches at UC San Diego and UC Irvine respectively during spring break. The following weekend March 20-21, Penn State hosts St. Francis and its final nonconference opponent, Purdue Fort Wayne.
PSU's final six matches all feature EIVA opponents, including the final home series of the regular season April 10-11 against Harvard and Sacred Heart at Rec Hall.
The EIVA Tournament is slated for April 23-25 at an on-campus site to be determined. The NCAA Tournament runs April 30 through May 9 with the semifinals and championship match hosted by George Mason in Fairfax, Va. May 7-9.
Penn State is coming off a 15-15 season in 2019 which saw a young Nittany Lion team take Princeton to the brink in a five-set EIVA championship match before falling to the Tigers 3-2.
Several key Nittany Lion returners include 2019 All-EIVA performers Jason Donorovich, Henrik Falck Lauten, Will Bantle, and Brett Wildman. This year's senior class includes Donorovich, Falck Lauten, Calvin Mende, Luke Braswell, and Nathan Smith.
For more information on Penn State men's volleyball, follow the Nittany Lions on Twitter @PennStateMVBALL and Instagram @pennstatemvball and "like" the Penn State men's volleyball page on Facebook.
