UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 4 Penn State men's volleyball takes another trip out to California for the Battle of the Bigs as the Nittany Lions face UC Santa Barbara and No. 3 Long Beach State out the Big West.
Ohio State will also play the Gauchos and the Beach in alternate matchups, similar to last week's B1G/Pac-12 Challenge in Los Angeles.
PSU heads to Santa Barbara on Friday to play the Gauchos before stopping at LBSU Saturday night. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
No. 4 Penn State (4-2) vs. UC Santa Barbara (2-3)
Date: Friday, Jan. 28
Time: 9:00 ET / 6:00 PT
ESPN+: Live Stream
Stats: Live Stats
Penn State vs. No. 3 Long Beach State (4-0)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 29
Time: 10:00 ET / 7:00 PT
ESPN+: Live Stream
Stats: Live Stats
THE MATCHUPS
PSU is 7-10 all time against UCSB with the Gauchos currently riding a two-match win streak. Penn State's last win game at home back in 2017 by a 3-1 score.
PSU is 7-19 all-time vs Long Beach. The Beach has won the last three matchups dating back to 2016. Penn State's last win came at Long Beach back in 2015, a 3-0 sweep.
MORE NOTES AND INFO
- Penn State ranks 4th in both the AVCA poll and the Off the Block media poll. PSU ranked as high as third in the AVCA poll this season (Jan. 18) and 2nd in the OTB poll (Jan. 19), its highest ranking ever in the media poll since its creation in 2016.
- Penn State nationally (as of Jan. 25): 40 total aces (T2nd), 2.00 aces per set (7th), 245 kills (5th), 174 digs (7th), .314 H% (12th). Cal Fisher ranks 7th in the country with 4.83 points per set and 11th in kills per set (3.80). Cole Bogner ranks fifth with 10.35 assists per set in the country.
- PSU dropped its first two matches of the 2022 season at the B1G/Pac-12 Challenge in Los Angeles last weekend. The Nittany Lions lost 3-1 to then-No. 12 USC on Friday before falling by the same score Saturday to No. 2 UCLA.
- Senior opposite Cal Fisher stuffed the stat sheet at the B1G/Pac12 Challenge with a pair of double-doubles. He had 20 kills and 10 digs vs USC and 16 kills with 11 digs vs. UCLA. The 2021 Off the Block Server of the Year has 13 aces through six matches, which ties the second most in the nation this season, and ranks 8th in program history with 106 aces, just behind Joe Sunder (107) and Matt Proper (108) on the list.
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.