UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The National Collegiate Championship bracket was released on Sunday, and the Penn State men's volleyball team was slated to start the tournament in the quarterfinal round on Tuesday, May 2. The Nittany Lions will play the winner between MIVA champion Ohio State and Conference Carolinas champion King (TN) at George Mason's EagleBank Arena.
Penn State's quarterfinal matchup is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. It will stream live on ESPN3.
The Lions advanced to the NC Championship Tournament after winning the EIVA Championship for the 35th time. They are 26-3 on the season, including a 12-0 mark against conference opponents. The most recent EIVA wins came over George Mason and Princeton in the semifinal and championship rounds of the conference tournament.
UCLA and Hawaii received the top two seeds in the seven-team bracket and will start the tournament in the semifinal round. The other quarterfinal matchup features the two at-large teams, Long Beach State and Grand Canyon.
Penn State played six matches against teams that qualified for the tournament and went 3-3 in those contests. The Lions knocked off Hawaii on its home court while winning the title at the Outrigger Challenge. They went 1-1 against both UCLA and Ohio State and lost their match to Long Beach State.
The Lions are set to make their 33rd appearance in the NC Tournament. They won the 1994 national title over UCLA at Purdue Fort Wayne and took the 2008 national title with a win over Pepperdine at UC Irvine.
