UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; October 18, 2006 - The Penn State men¡¯s volleyball team will take to the road for preseason exhibition competition, traveling to the University of Southern California for two matches this weekend. The Nittany Lions and Trojans will square off at 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. PT on Saturday, Oct. 21 in USC¡¯s South Gymnasium.

¡°There is nothing better than taking a new group on the road to face tough competition, and doing that in the preseason with USC is a great way to get the year started,¡± said head coach Mark Pavlik, who will be starting his 13th season in Happy Valley. ¡°Facing a talented USC team in their own gym will give us a good idea of where we are as a team early in the year. Thanks to [head coach] Bill Ferguson and the USC staff for putting this together. We hope to return the favor next year.¡±

The national runner-up last year, Penn State opens up regular-season play on the road at Ball State and IPFW (Jan. 12-13) before heading to the Outrigger Invitational in Honolulu, Hawaii, to take on BYU and the host Warriors on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 26-27. Penn State opens its home schedule against Ohio State on Thursday, Feb. 1.

The EIVA Quarterfinals will be held at campus sites on Saturday, April 21, with the top two seeds earning a bye, before the EIVA Semifinals and Championship will be held on Thursday and Saturday, April 26 and 28 on the campus of the top seed.

Ohio State will host the 2007 National Collegiate Championship on Thursday and Saturday, May 3 and 5 at St. John Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

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