UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- No. 19 Penn State Men's Volleyball continues its spring break trip with three matches at the Outrigger Invitational in Honolulu Hawaii, where it will play three nationally-ranked teams -- No. 5 USC, No. 3 Hawaii, and No. 12 Ball State.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Thursday, March 13 – 10 p.m. ET
#19 Penn State (5-10, 2-2 EIVA) vs. #5 USC (13-2, 4-0 MPSF) | Live Stats
Saturday, March 15 – 1 a.m. ET
#19 Penn State (5-10, 2-2 EIVA) at #3 Hawaii (17-1, 2-0 Big West) | Live Stats | ESPN+
Saturday, March 15 – 10 p.m. ET
#19 Penn State (5-10, 2-2 EIVA) vs. #12 Ball State (13-6, 6-3 MIVA) | Live Stats
PENN STATE OUTRIGGER INVITATIONAL HISTORY
• Penn State is set to make its 23rd appearance in the Outrigger Invitational.
• The Nittany Lions are 23-36 all-time in the event.
• Against this year’s field, Penn State is 1-1 against USC in matches played in the Outrigger Invitational, 8-13 against Hawaii, and 3-2 against Ball State.
• The Nittany Lions last appearance in the Outrigger Invitational was in 2023 when they won the event by going 2-1 with wins over Hawaii and Purdue Fort Wayne and a loss to UCLA. Current Penn State libero Ryan Merk was named to the All-Tournament Team.
• Penn State has played 10 different teams in the event.
• The Nittany Lions are playing in the event for just the third time in the last eight seasons.
• All of Penn State’s 23 appearances in the event have come during Mark Pavlik’s time as head coach, starting with his first season at the helm in 1995.
LAST TIME OUT
• Matthew Luoma put together a solid performance in his hometown of Phoenix but it wasn’t enough as Penn State lost a road match to No. 15 Grand Canyon 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-20).
• Luoma finished with 14 kills in addition to a career-high seven digs. Will Kuhns was right behind him with 10 kills and added six digs. Josh Rosenblum made his first career start at setter and tallied 30 assists, eight digs, and three blocks.
SERIES HISTORY - USC
• Penn State and USC will meet for the 35th time. The teams first played in 1980.
• USC leads the series 22-12. The Trojans are 17-5 against the Nittany Lions at neutral sites.
• The Trojans won 3-1 in the first meeting between the two teams this season, which came during the B1G Challenge in Columbus, Ohio.
SCOUTING USC
• USC is ranked fifth in the nation and is 13-2 on the season after four straight wins over Vanguard (3-0), Vanguard (3-0) again, No. 6 BYU (3-2), and No. 6 BYU (3-0) again.
• 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.
• USC ranks first in the MPSF in assists/set (12.66), blocks/set (2.92), digs/set (9.26), hitting percentage (.392), kills/set (13.74), opponent hitting percentage (.210), and winning percentage (.867).
• Sophomore setter Caleb Blanchette ranks first in the nation in assists/set (11.35).
SERIES HISTORY - HAWAII
• Penn State and Hawaii will meet for the 29th time. The teams first played in 1995.
• Hawaii leads the series 17-10. The Rainbow Warriors are 13-8 against the Nittany Lions in Honolulu.
• The teams last played in 2023. Penn State won the first meeting that year 3-1 at the Outrigger Challenge. Hawaii won the second meeting 3-2 in the semifinal round of the NCAA Tournament.
• The teams are 5-5 over the past 10 meetings.
SCOUTING HAWAII
• Hawaii is ranked third in the nation and is 17-1 on the season. The Rainbow Warriors take an eight match winning streak into the weekend after wins over Belmont Abbey (3-0), Queens (3-0), Catawba (3-1), Queens (3-1) again, UC Irvine (3-0), UC Irvine (3-0) again, Lindenwood (3-0), and Lindenwood (3-1) again.
• The Rainbow Warriors were picked third in the 2025 Big West Preseason Poll. Tread Rosenthal, a 6-11 sophomore setter, was voted to the Preseason All-Big West Team.
• Hawaii ranks first in the Big West in assists/set (12.48), blocks/set (2.49), and kills/set (13.37).
• Rosenthal ranks first in the Big West and third in the nation in assists/set (10.89).
SERIES HISTORY - BALL STATE
• Penn State and Ball State will meet for the 91st time. The teams first played in 1977.
• Penn State leads the series 63-27. The Nittany Lions are 20-9 against the Cardinals at neutral sites.
• The Nittany Lions won the most recent meeting 3-0 on the road last season. Ryan Merk led all players with 11 digs in the win.
SCOUTING BALL STATE
• Ball State is ranked 12th in the nation and is 13-6 on the season following a 3-1 loss to No. 9 Loyola Chicago in its most recent match.
• The Cardinals, who won the regular season conference title last season, were picked first in the 2025 MIVA Preseason Poll. They landed three players on the Preseason All-MIVA Team -- 6-6 senior opposite Raje Alleyne, 6-6 senior outside hitter Tinaishe Ndavazocheva, and 6-7 junior outside hitter Patrick Rogers.
• Ball State ranks first in the MIVA in blocks/set (2.46).
CAREER HIGHS SET LAST WEEK
at Grand Canyon (3/8)
• Josh Rosenblum - kills (2)
at Grand Canyon (3/9)
• Gaige Gabriel - blocks (7)
• Matthew Luoma - digs (7)
• Josh Rosenblum - assists (30), digs (8), blocks (3)
STREAKS TO WATCH
Ryan Merk
• 76 straight starts at libero
Miller Trubey
• 3 straight matches with seven kills
UP NEXT
• Penn State returns to EIVA play when it hosts Charleston for a pair of matches on March 28-29. The Golden Eagles are 7-10 overall and 4-2 in the conference following a 3-1 win over Harvard in their most recent match.