STATE COLLEGE, Pa., Oct. 15, 2001 -- The Penn State men's volleyball team will face several national powers during the 2002 season, in addition to traditional EIVA matchups. Penn State, who advanced to the semifinals of the 2001 National Championship, is looking to better their 24-8 record from last season.

"This schedule will bring some of the best teams in the country to Rec Hall, beginning with the NCAA Preview tournament," said head coach Mark Pavlik, who is beginning his 8th season at the helm of the Nittany Lions. "Our November matches against Hawaii, while not counting towards our regular season record, will certainly be the beginning of a very competitive season. That is important, especially since we're hosting the NCAA Championship in May. It gives us extra incentive to play hard and do well in every game."

The Lions open regular season play on the road against Ohio State, a 2001 National semifinalist on Friday, Jan. 11 at 7:00 p.m. From there, they travel to the Outrigger Invitational in Honolulu, Hawaii, which features matches against UCLA, Lewis and host Hawaii.

Penn State will host the NCAA Preview Tournament Feb. 1-2, which includes Lewis, Stanford and George Mason. The Patriots are considered one of the favorites for the EIVA crown. Other key EIVA matchups are Concordia (Feb. 23/April 6), Rutgers (Feb. 16/March 15) and Princeton (Feb. 9/April 13).

The culmination of the season will end in Happy Valley, as Penn State plays host to the 2002 NCAA Championship May 2 and 4 at Rec Hall. Ticket applications are online at www.GoPSUsports.com.

Fans can sneak a peak at the 2002 Lions during two games against powerhouse Hawaii Nov. 2 and 3 at Rec Hall. Tickets will be available at the door with Penn State students admitted free with ID.

Penn State returns 16 letterwinners from last year's team, including all six starters and the primary libero, Ricky Mattei (San Juan, Puerto Rico), who was named Libero of the Year by Asics/Volleyball Magazine. First team All-America selection Jose Quinones (Bayamon, Puerto Rico) returns at the setter position and is joined by EIVA all-conference selections Carlos Guerra (junior outside hitter/Tamaulipus, Mexico), Zelimir Koljesar (junior opposite/Kitchener, Ontario), John Mills (senior middle hitter/Fresno, Calif.) and Zach Slenker (junior middle hitter/Dallastown, Pa.).

 2002 Penn State Men's Volleyball Schedule* November 2 Fri 7:30 PM Hawaii University Park 3 Sat 7:30 PM Hawaii University Park January 11 Fri 7:00 PM Ohio State Columbus, Ohio 16-18 Wed-Sat 7:30 PM Outrigger Invitational Honolulu, Hawaii Hawaii, UCLA, Lewis, Penn State 26 Sat 10 AM-5 PM Alumni University Park 29 Tues 7:30 PM St. Francis of PA(EIVA) University Park February 1-2 Fri-Sat NCAA Preview Tourney University Park Fri 6:30 PM Lewis vs. Stanford Fri 8:30 PM Penn State vs. George Mason (EIVA) Sat 6:30 PM George Mason vs. Lewis Sat 8:30 PM Penn State vs. Stanford 5 Tues 7:30 PM Juniata (EIVA) University Park 8 Fri 7:30 PM New York University University Park 9 Sat 4:00 PM Princeton (EIVA) University Park 13 Wed 7:30 PM East Stroudsburg University Park 15 Fri 7:00 PM NJIT (EIVA) Newark, N.J. 16 Sat 7:00 PM Rutgers-Newark (EIVA) Newark, N.J. 23 Sat 6:00 PM Concordia (EIVA) Bronxville, N.Y. March 1 Fri 7:30 PM Ohio State University Park 11 Mon 7:30 PM Ball State University Park 15 Fri 7:30 PM Rutgers (EIVA) University Park 16 Sat 4:00 PM NJIT (EIVA) University Park 19 Tues 7:00 PM St. Francis of PA (EIVA) Loretto, Pa. 22 Fri 7:00 PM Loyola Chicago, Ill. 23 Sat 7:00 PM Lewis Romeoville, Ill. April 2 Tues 7:00 PM Juniata (EIVA) Huntingdon, Pa. 6 Sat 4:00 PM Concordia (EIVA) University Park 12 Fri 7:30 PM George Mason(EIVA) Fairfax, Va. 13 Sat 4:00 PM Princeton (EIVA) Princeton, N.J. 20 Sat 7:30 PM EIVA Quarterfinals University Park 25 Thur TBA EIVA Semifinals TBA 27 Sat 7:00 PM EIVA Finals TBA May 2 Thur 5:00 PM NCAA Semifinals University Park 4 Sat TBA NCAA Championships University Park * This schedule is subject to change. --LIONS--