UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- No. 8 Penn State Men's Volleyball opens the 2025 season with a pair of road matches against ranked opponents this weekend. The Nittany Lions play at No. 12 Loyola Chicago on Friday and at No. 14 Lewis on Saturday. Both matches are scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.
Friday's match against the Ramblers will stream on ESPN+, while Saturday's match against the Flyers will stream on YouTube.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Friday, Jan. 10 – 8 p.m. ET
#8 Penn State (0-0, 0-0 EIVA) at #12 Loyola Chicago (0-0, 0-0 MIVA) | Live Stats | ESPN+
Saturday, Jan. 11 – 8 p.m. ET
#8 Penn State (0-0, 0-0 EIVA) at #14 Lewis (0-0, 0-0 MIVA) | Live Stats | YouTube
OPENING NOTES
• Penn State is set to open the 49th season in program history,
• The Nittany Lions are 16-14 in season openers under head coach Mark Pavlik. During that time they...
- are 7-2 against the MIVA in season openers.
- have never played Loyola Chicago in a season opener.
- have played Ohio State (7 times), Hawaii (5), and UCLA (5) the most in season openers.
• Penn State has won four straight season openers, dating Ohio State in 2021, BYU in 2022, Central State in 2023, and Central State again in 2024.
SERIES HISTORY (LOYOLA CHICAGO)
• Penn State is 13-15 in the all-time series with Loyola Chicago. The teams first played in 1995.
• The Nittany Lions won the most recent matchup with a 3-0 road victory in 2020.
• Penn State is 3-12 in road matches against the Ramblers.
• No current Penn State player has ever played against Loyola Chicago.
SCOUTING LOYOLA CHICAGO
• Loyola Chicago went 19-10 overall and 12-4 in the MIVA last season. The Ramblers fell to Ohio State in the semifinal round of the conference tournament.
• The Ramblers were picked second in the 2025 MIVA Preseason Poll. Redshirt senior outside hitter Parker Van Buren was selected as the MIVA Preseason Player of the Year. He was joined on the Preseason All-MIVA Team by sophomore outside hitter Daniel Fabikovic and senior middle blocker Nicodemus Meyer.
• Van Buren is the reigning MIVA Player of the Year, while Fabikovic was last season’s Newcomer of the Year.
SERIES HISTORY (LEWIS)
• Penn State is 23-16 in the all-time series with Lewis. The teams first played in 1994.
• The Nittany Lions won the most recent matchup with a 3-2 victory at Rec Hall last season. John Kerr, who graduated at the end of last season, led the way with 31 kills. Owen Rose hit .500 with seven kills and three blocks, while Michael Schwob finished with 59 assists, six digs, and three blocks while guiding the team to .343 hitting.
• Penn State is 9-5 in road matches against the Flyers.
SCOUTING LEWIS
• Lewis went 15-15 overall and 8-8 in the MIVA last season. The Flyers fell to Ohio State in the quarterfinal round of the conference tournament.
• The Flyers were picked fourth in the 2025 MIVA Preseason Poll. Senior outside hitter Max Roquet and junior libero Nico Paula were named to the Preseason All-MIVA Team.
• Both Roquet and Paula were first-team All-MIVA honorees last season.
2024 CAPTAINS
• Will Kuhns and Owen Rose were named team captains for the 2025 season.
• Kuhns is a captain for a second season, while Rose is a captain for the first time.
PRESEASON FAVORITES
• Penn State was picked as the preseason favorite in the EIVA. The Nittany Lions are looking to grab the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the third-consecutive year.
• Ryan Merk and Michael Schwob were selected as Players to Watch in the conference.
UP NEXT
• Penn State is back on the road next week as it heads to Austin, Texas for the First Point Collegiate Challenge. The Nittany Lions will play No. 1 UCLA on Friday, Jan. 17 at 5 p.m. ET, and will take on No. 13 Stanford on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 5 p.m. ET.