UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; December 22, 2006 ¨C The Penn State men¡¯s volleyball team will start out the 2007 season ranked No. 8 in the country, according to the CSTV/AVCA Division I-II Top 15 Coaches Poll.

The Nittany Lions will face nine of the teams ranked in the Top 15 poll, including No. 1 UC Irvine, No. 2 Brigham Young, No. 4 Hawaii, No. 6 UC Santa Barbara, No. 7 IPFW, No. 10 Long Beach State, No. 11 Ohio State, No. 13 Loyola-Chicago and No. 14 Ball State.

The national runners-up last season, Penn State opens the 2007 slate at Ball State on Jan. 12. The Lions start their home schedule against Ohio State on Thursday, Feb. 1 at 7:00 p.m. at Rec Hall.

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