UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 10 Penn State men's volleyball team carries a two-match winning streak into its first homestand hosting the Big Ten/Pac 12 Challenge at Rec Hall this Friday and Sunday, Jan. 24-26.
The Nittany Lions host and will play against No. 6 UCLA and USC while also hosting Ohio State, who will also play against both Los Angeles schools. All four matches will be available on BTN-Plus. For the full weekend schedule, see Penn State's schedule page.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
No. 6 UCLA (3-1) vs. No. 10 Penn State (2-2)
Date: Friday, Jan. 24
Time: 7 p.m.
Live stream: BTN-Plus (Subscription required)
Live stats: SideArm Stats
USC (1-4) vs. Penn State
Date: Sunday, Jan. 26
Time: 4 p.m.
Live stream: BTN-Plus (Subscription required)
Live stats: Sidearm Stats
Game notes: Penn State game notes
THE BIG TEN/PAC 12 CHALLENGE
The 2020 Big Ten/Pac 12 Challenge marks the fifth official time the event has taken place and the second time its been hosted by Penn State at Rec Hall since the inaugural showing in 2016.
The Nittany Lions are 3-5 in the event against UCLA and USC. The Los Angeles schools lead the all-time series 9-7.
Though the Nittany Lions do not face the Buckeyes this weekend, they will play each other next Saturday, Feb. 1 at Rec Hall in a nonconference match.
LAST TIME OUT: LOYOLA CHICAGO AND LEWIS
Penn State won its first two matches of the season in impressive fashion on the road last weekend. PSU downed LUC in straight sets before rallying down 2 games to none to defeat Lewis in five.
After a lengthy first set win, Penn State cruised to two more set wins to beat LUC. Brett Wildman led PSU with 14 kills.
Lewis had a two-game lead over the Nittany Lions after winning a marathon 38-36 second set, but Penn State buckled down to win the next three frames in a row, the first time they've completed that sort of comeback since the 2017 season.
NITTANY LION NOTES
- Penn State had several spectacular individual efforts in their two wins over Loyola Chicago and Lewis on the road last weekend, most notably sophomore Brett Wildman and redshirt sophomore Will Bantle as the pair swept the EIVA weekly awards. Wildman had team-high kill totals of 14 at LUC and 17 at Lewis and hit .338 overall to win Offensive Player of the Week. Will Bantle had 23 digs over both matches, including a single-game personal best 19 Saturday evening against the Flyers, while also going 33-33 on serve-receive to win Defensive Player of the Week.
- Redshirt junior Bobby Wilden and redshirt senior Cal Mende also lit up the scoreboard last Saturday at Lewis. In just his third career start, Wilden had 16 kills, 10 digs, and three service aces for PSU. Mende also chipped in 16 kills in the victory over Lewis and hit over .300 with double-digit kills in both matches last weekend.
- Penn State's sweep of Loyola Chicago and Lewis was its first sweep of the two programs on the road in program history. Saturday's victory over the fifth-ranked Flyers was also Penn State's first road victory over a top-five opponent since March 3, 2010 at Ohio State.
NEXT UP
The Nittany Lions defend home court again next weekend Jan. 31 & Feb. 1 against Ball State and Ohio State out of the MIVA.
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.