No. 17 Men's Volleyball Set for B1G Challenge in Columbus
Penn State plays No. 3 UCLA on Friday and No. 6 USC on Saturday
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- No. 17 Penn State Men's Volleyball travels to Columbus, Ohio for the Big Ten Challenge this weekend. The Nittany Lions play No. 3 UCLA on Friday at 4 p.m., and No. 6 USC on Saturday at 4 p.m. Both matches will stream on B1G+.
After their two matches this weekend, the Nittany Lions will have opened the season against six straight nationally-ranked opponents.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Friday, Jan. 31 – 4 p.m.
#17 Penn State (0-4, 0-0 EIVA) vs. #3 UCLA (4-1, 0-0 MPSF) | Live Stats | Watch
Saturday, Jan. 18 – 5 p.m. ET
#17 Penn State (0-4, 0-0 EIVA) vs. #6 USC (6-0, 0-0 MPSF) | Live Stats | Watch
B1G CHALLENGE NOTES
• Penn State is set to compete in the ninth edition of the Big Ten Challenge -- formerly known as the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge -- this weekend at Ohio State’s Covelli Center. The event, which was first held in 2016, has rotated between the four participants -- Penn State, Ohio State, UCLA, and USC.
• Penn State is 7-9 all-time at the Big Ten Challenge, going 2-6 against UCLA and 5-3 against USC. The Nittany Lions are 6-2 when the event is held on the eastern part of the country and 1-7 when its on the west coast.
SERIES HISTORY - UCLA
• Penn State and UCLA will meet for the 46th time. The teams first played in 1982.
• UCLA leads the series 36-8-1, including a 3-0 win at the First Point Collegiate Challenge in Austin, Texas two weeks ago.
SCOUTING UCLA
• UCLA is ranked third in the nation and is 4-1 following wins over No. 14 UC San Diego and No. 15 CSUN last week.
• The Bruins’ lone loss this season came to Ohio State at the First Point Collegiate Challenge in Austin, Texas.
• UCLA is the two-time defending national champion. They return three All-Americans in setter Andrew Rowan and pin hitters Cooper Robinson and Ido David.
SERIES HISTORY - USC
• Penn State and USC will meet for the 34th time. The teams first played in 1980.
• USC leads the series 21-12. The Trojans are 16-5 against the Nittany Lions at neutral sites.
SCOUTING USC
• USC is ranked sixth in the nation and is unbeaten at 6-0 with wins over Daemen (3-1), No. 19 Princeton (3-0), D’Youville (3-0), Emmanuel (3-0), No. 15 CSUN (3-1), and Central State (3-0).
• The Trojans were picked second in the 2025 Preseason MPSF Poll. They return two-time All-American outside hitter Dillon Klein and added two-time All-American middle blocker Guy Genis as a transfer from UCLA.
CAREER HIGHS SET LAST TIME OUT
vs. #1 UCLA
• Gaige Gabriel - kills (5)
at #11 Stanford
• Gaige Gabriel - blocks (4)
• Sean Harvey - aces (1), blocks (3)
• Will Kuhns - digs (9)
• Matthew Luoma - kills (10), digs (3)
• Josh Rosenblum - assists (7)
UP NEXT
• No. 17 Penn State opens EIVA play with a pair of matches at No. 19 Harvard on Feb. 7-8.
• The Nittany Lions have won 38 consecutive EIVA regular season matches dating back to the 2021 season. It is the longest such streak in conference history.
• Penn State’s last EIVA regular season loss came on the road to George Mason on April 3, 2021.