UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; November 8, 2006 ¨C The Penn State men¡¯s volleyball team will travel to Ohio State for a 7:00 p.m. exhibition matchup on Saturday, Nov. 11. The contest will take place at St. John Arena, also the site of the 2007 Men¡¯s Volleyball National Collegiate Championship, on May 3 & 5.

¡°Wrapping up our preseason at the site of the 2007 National Collegiate Championship will provide us with another opportunity to gauge our progress,¡± said head coach Mark Pavlik. ¡°If we are able to build on the things we learned on our trip to USC three weeks ago, and also come out of this match understanding that we are on the right path, then we can continue to improve over the upcoming weeks. Ohio State will provide a physical opponent who will expose the flaws in our game if we don¡¯t compete hard. They are an excellent test for us at this point in the year.¡±

Penn State returns nine letterwinners and three starters from the national runners-up squad a year ago, while adding six newcomers. Senior libero Ryan Walthall (Irvine, Calif.), senior outside hitter Alex Gutor (Kiev, Ukraine), sophomore middle hitter Max Holt (Cincinnati, Ohio) and sophomore outside hitter Matt Anderson (West Seneca, N.Y.), along with a host of others, return for the Nittany Lions, who open their season on Friday, Jan. 12 at Ball State. Penn State¡¯s home opener is Thursday, Feb. 1 against Ohio State at 7:00 p.m. at Rec Hall.

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