UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., Oct. 17, 2003 - Matchups with national and conference contenders highlight the 2004 Penn State men's volleyball schedule. The schedule features matches with defending NCAA National Champion Lewis, Hawaii, USC, UC San Diego, Loyola (Ill.), Ohio State, Ball State and IPFW in addition to traditional conference foes George Mason and Rutgers-Newark.

"The first three weekends of our schedule are very important," said head coach Mark Pavlik, who begins his 10th season at the helm of the Penn State program. "We play very tough competition to start out the season, which will prepare us for our conference schedule and get us where we need to be at the end of April and the beginning of May."

The Nittany Lions open up competition at the Hawaii Outrigger Invitational from Jan. 8-10, facing the host Warriors, defending NCAA Champion Lewis and Manitoba over the three-day span. Penn State then returns to the mainland and travels to Illinois for matches at Loyola (Ill.) and Lewis on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 16-17. The Nittany Lions then head to Indiana for contests at Ball State and IPFW on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 23-24 before opening up their home slate on Tuesday, Jan. 27 against St. Francis.

Rec Hall will host the Penn State Invitational on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 6-7. The Nittany Lions will welcome Lewis, USC and UC San Diego to Happy Valley for the tournament, as Penn State takes on UC San Diego on Friday and USC on Saturday. The schedule also features a home-and-home series with Ohio State, as the Nittany Lions travel to Columbus on March 3 before the Buckeyes come to Happy Valley on March 30.

The Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) Tait division schedule includes matches with Rutgers-Newark (Jan. 30, March 26), George Mason (April 2, April 17), St. Francis (Jan. 27, Feb. 25), Juniata (Feb. 3, March 23), Springfield (Feb. 20, April 3) and Princeton (March 27, April 10).

A new alignment of the EIVA brings about a new division to replace the former Odeneal division. The new Sweeney division includes Vassar, Harvard, Sacred Heart, NJIT and Roger Williams while the Hay division includes NYU, East Stroudsburg, Queens, Southampton and New Haven.

The quarterfinals of the EIVA Championship will be held on Saturday, April 24 at campus sites with the EIVA semifinals and final scheduled for April 29 and May 1 at the highest remaining seed. The winner of the EIVA Tournament will advance to the 2004 NCAA National Collegiate Championship held on the campus of the University of Hawaii on May 6-8.

For more information on the Penn State men's volleyball team, please visit www.GoPSUsports.com.

2004 Penn State Men's Volleyball Schedule

January
8-10 Thurs-Sat. at Hawaii Outrigger Invitational
8 Thurs. at Hawaii Honolulu, Hawaii 7:30 p.m. (HT)
9 Fri. vs. Lewis Honolulu, Hawaii 5:00 p.m. (HT)
10 Sat. vs. Manitoba Honolulu, Hawaii 5:00 p.m. (HT)
16 Fri. at Loyola (Ill.) Chicago, Ill. 8:00 p.m.
17 Sat. at Lewis Romeoville, Ill. 9:00 p.m.
23 Fri. at Ball State Muncie, Ind. 7:00 p.m.
24 Sat. at IPFW Ft. Wayne, Ind. 7:00 p.m.
27 Tues. vs. St. Francis* University Park, Pa. 7:00 p.m.
30 Fri. vs. Rutgers-Newark* University Park, Pa. 7:00 p.m.
31 Sat. Alumni University Park, Pa. 3:00 p.m.

February
3 Tues. Juniata* University Park, Pa. 7:00 p.m.
6-7 Fri.-Sat. Hosts Penn State Invitational
6 Fri. Lewis vs. USC University Park, Pa. 2:00 p.m.
6 Fri. vs. UC San Diego University Park, Pa. 8:30 p.m.
7 Sat. Lewis vs. UC San Diego University Park, Pa. 5:00 p.m.
7 Sat. vs. USC University Park, Pa. 8:00 p.m.
20-21 Fri.-Sat. at Hall of Fame Classic
20 Fri. vs. Springfield* Springfield, Mass. 8:00 p.m.
21 Sat. vs. UC Irvine/Ohio State Springfield, Mass. 8:00 p.m.
25 Wed. at St. Francis* Loretto, Pa. 7:00 p.m.

March
3 Wed. at Ohio State Columbus, Ohio 7:00 p.m.
19 Fri. vs. Sacred Heart University Park, Pa. 7:00 p.m.
20 Sat. vs. Ball State University Park, Pa. 7:00 p.m.
23 Tues. at Juniata* Huntingdon, Pa. 7:00 p.m.
26 Fri. at Rutgers-Newark* Newark, N.J. 7:00 p.m.
27 Sat. at Princeton* Princeton, N.J. 7:00 p.m.
30 Tues. vs. Ohio State University Park, Pa. 7:00 p.m.

April
2 Fri. vs. George Mason* University Park, Pa. 7:00 p.m.
3 Sat. vs. Springfield* University Park, Pa. 3:00 p.m.
10 Sat. vs. Princeton* University Park, Pa. 7:00 p.m.
16 Fri. vs. IPFW (Senior Night) University Park, Pa. 7:00 p.m.
17 Sat. at George Mason* Fairfax, Va. 7:00 p.m.
24 Sat. EIVA Quarterfinal University Park, Pa. 7:00 p.m.
29 Thurs. EIVA Semifinal TBA TBA

May
1 Sat. EIVA Championship TBA TBA
6 Thurs NCAA Semifinals Honolulu, Hawaii TBA
8 Sat. NCAA Final Honolulu, Hawaii TBA

Home matches in BOLD CAPS * All Times Eastern unless otherwise indicated * * Indicates EIVA Tait match