UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State heads to the Covelli Center in Columbus for the eight-team bracket portion of the National Collegiate Championship after winning an Opening Round match at Daemen last week. The seventh-seeded Nittany Lions take on second-seeded Hawaii, the champion out of the Big West, in the quarterfinal round on Thursday at 1:30 p.m.
The winner between Penn State and Hawaii advances to play the winner between third-seeded UCLA and sixth-seeded Belmont Abbey in the National Semifinal on Saturday.
The Nittany Lions are in the NC Championship for the third-consecutive season as they advanced to the National Semifinal in 2023 and the quarterfinal round in 2024.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Penn State (15-15, 8-4 EIVA) vs. Hawaii (26-5, 7-3 Big West) | Live Stats | Watch
SERIES HISTORY
• Penn State and Hawaii will meet for the 29th time overall and the seventh time in a postseason tournament.
• The Rainbow Warriors lead the overall series 18-10, including a 3-0 win in Honolulu earlier this season. They lead the postseason series 4-2, including five-set wins in each of the previous two matchups (2017, 2023).
• Ryan Merk has averaged 2.17 digs/set and has allowed just one ace on 88 serve reception attempts (.989) in three career matches against Hawaii.
HOW WE GOT HERE
• Penn State earned the three seed in the EIVA Tournament after going 11-15 overall and 8-4 in the conference. The Nittany Lions had five players earn All-EIVA honors -- Ryan Merk (first team), Will Kuhns (first team), Owen Rose (second team), Gaige Gabriel (honorable mention), Matthew Luoma (honorable mention).
• The Nittany Lions then swept their way through the EIVA Tournament, posting 3-0 wins over sixth-seeded Harvard, second-seeded NJIT, and top-seeded Princeton to improve to 14-15 overall and earn the conference’s automatic bid to the NC Championship. Michael Schwob was named the Most Outstanding Player of the EIVA Tournament, thanks in large part to his nine aces over nine sets (three in each match). Joining him on the EIVA Championship All-Tournament Team were Matthew Luoma, Ryan Merk, and Will Kuhns.
• Penn State evened its record at 15-15 with a 3-0 win at Daemen in the NC Championship Opening Round, posting its fifth-consecutive win by sweep. Matthew Luoma hit .345 with 14 kills for the Nittany Lions. Michael Schwob tallied 30 assists while leading the team to .380 hitting and added three aces. It was his sixth-straight match with exactly three aces.
HOW THEY GOT HERE
• Hawaii entered the Big West Tournament as the second-seeded team after going 24-5 overall and 7-3 in the conference during the regular season. Sophomore setter Tread Rosenthal, freshman outside hitter Adrien Roure, and freshman opposite Kristian Titriyski were named to the All-Big West Team.
• The Rainbow Warriors posted wins over third-seeded UC Irvine (3-1) and top-seeded Long Beach State (3-1) to win the Big West Tournament, improving to 26-5 overall while earning the conference’s automatic bid to the NC Championship.
• Roure was named Big West Tournament MVP.
CAREER HIGHS SET LAST MATCH
at Daemen (5/2)
• Matthew Luoma - aces (3)
STREAKS TO WATCH
Matthew Luoma
• 6 straight matches with double-digit kills
• 4 straight matches with at least one ace
Ryan Merk
• 91 straight starts at libero
Michael Schwob
• 6 straight matches with three aces