UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State men’s volleyball announced its 2027 schedule on Monday as it begins a new era under first-year head coach Colin McMillan. The non-conference slate is highlighted by five matches at Rec Hall against teams that played in last year’s NCAA Tournament.
The Nittany Lions open the 2027 season with a pair of matches at home as they host Roberts Wesleyan on Jan. 6 and Ball State on Jan. 8. The Cardinals are the first of the five returning national qualifiers that will play at Rec Hall. They earned a spot in the bracket with a title in the MIVA Tournament and went on to advance to the National Semifinal with a win over Pepperdine. It will be the 92nd meeting all-time between Penn State and Ball State.
The other four returning postseason teams make the trip to State College all in a span of 10 days. The gauntlet for Penn State includes Fort Valley State (Jan. 21), Long Beach State (Jan. 23), UCLA (Jan. 29), and USC (Jan. 30).
The match against Fort Valley State is the first-ever meeting between the teams. The Wildcats are the three-time defending champions in the SIAC.
The other three of those opponents are long-time foes of Penn State. The Nittany Lions will play Long Beach State for the 30th time, UCLA for the 47th time, and USC for the 36th time. The Beach advanced to the National Semifinal last season, while the Bruins and Trojans played in the quarterfinals.
Other non-conference opponents making the trip to Rec Hall are Daemen (March 20) and North Greenville (March 27). The Nittany Lions are 2-0 against Daemen, including a sweep in the opening round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. They are 1-0 against North Greenville with a win in 2019. Non-conference road matches for the Nittany Lions include Ohio State (Feb. 6), Loyola Chicago (March 6), Lewis (March 7), and Hawaii (March 12). Hawaii is the defending national champion, while Loyola Chicago advanced to the quarterfinal round.
The match against Hawaii is part of the Outrigger Invitational, which will also include two other opponents in Honolulu. Further details of that event will be announced at a later date.
The EIVA schedule features two matches against each of the other six teams. Penn State will play home matches against Princeton (Feb. 19-20), Charleston (April 16-17), and Sacred Heart (April 23-24). The Nittany Lions will go on the road to play George Mason (Feb. 12-13), Harvard (Feb. 26-27), and NJIT (April 9-10).
Penn State has won four straight EIVA Tournament titles. The Nittany Lions went a perfect 12-0 in conference play during the regular season last year before beating Charleston and Princeton in the conference tournament.