State College, Pa.- The #9 Penn State men's volleyball team (4-2) will be in action against a pair of EIVA conference opponents at Rec Hall this weekend. Friday night, the Lions face Rutgers-Newark and Saturday night, Penn State faces the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Both matches start at 7:30 p.m. Rutgers-Newark, under second year head coach Sean Byron, is 1-7 overall, 1-0 in the EIVA. The Scarlet Raiders' lone win came in a 3-0 victory over NJIT on Friday, January, 26. Last season, Rutgers-Newark was 8-6 in the EIVA, 11-17 overall. Penn State defeated the Raiders in both matches last season. The New Jersey Institute of Technology is 2-3 overall and 1-1 in EIVA play in 2001. NJIT, under third year coach Manny Del Rio, is coming off a 3-1 victory over Vassar. The Highlanders face Juniata on Friday evening, prior to making the trip to State College. NJIT finished 15-11 overall in 2000, with an 8-6 mark in the EIVA.

The Nittany Lions defeated NJIT in all three match-ups last year. Last weekend, the Lions swept both Juniata and IPFW. Before another capacity crowd in South Gym of Rec Hall, the Penn State men's volleyball team defeated IPFW 3-0 (30-19, 30-25, 30-28). The Nittany Lions defeated Juniata 3-0 (30-16, 30-22, 30-19).

-LIONS-