UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 16 Penn State men’s volleyball is set to compete in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth-consecutive season when it travels to UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion to play UC Irvine in the Regional Round on Friday at 9 p.m. ET. This marks the first season of the 12-team format, which includes four regions of three teams.
Penn State is in top-seeded UCLA’s region, meaning the winner between the Nittany Lions and Anteaters will play the host Bruins in the Regional Final on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET.
The Nittany Lions are fresh off winning their fourth-consecutive EIVA Tournament title, ensuring the team would play in the national tournament in head coach Mark Pavlik’s 32nd and final season. He ranks third in the history of men’s collegiate volleyball with 716 career wins and was recently named the EIVA Coach of the Year for the 11th time.
Penn State is led by Sean Harvey, who was named both the EIVA Player of the Year and the EIVA Most Outstanding Player. He was joined on the All-EIVA First Team by Ryan Merk and Owen Rose. Making the second team were Gaige Gabriel, Matthew Luoma, and Michael Schwob, while Tristan Hassell was tabbed as an honorable mention.
UC Irvine is a familiar opponent for Penn State in the postseason. The teams have met in the NCAA Tournament on four previous occasions, most recently in the quarterfinal round in 2024. The Anteaters won that match and also hold semifinal wins over the Nittany Lions in 2007 and 2012. The Nittany Lions took down the Anteaters in the semifinal round in 2006.
UC Irvine received an at-large bid to the tournament with an 18-8 overall record and a 5-5 mark in the Big West. The Anteaters enter the event as the fifth-ranked team in the nation.
UCLA, the top-ranked team in the most recent AVCA Coaches Poll, earned the top seed after winning the MPSF Tournament title. The Bruins are 29-1 overall and went 13-1 in the MPSF during the regular season.