Jan. 7, 2009
HONOLULU, Hawaii -
Complete Match Notes in PDF Format
The defending national champion and top-ranked Penn State men's volleyball team will open the 2009 campaign at the Outrigger Invitational in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Nittany Lions will face Southern California on Thursday, Jan. 8 at 4:00 p.m. HT (9:00 p.m. ET) before taking on Ohio State on Friday, Jan. 9, also at 4:00 p.m. HT (9:00 p.m. ET). Penn State will close out the tournament with Hawaii on Saturday, Jan. 10 at 7:00 p.m. HT (midnight ET). Livestats for all three matches and audio for the Hawaii match will be available via a link at www.GoPSUsports.com.
Previewing Penn State
The Nittany Lions return 12 letterwinners and five starters - including three AVCA All-Americans - from last season's NCAA Championship squad that finished with an overall record of 30-1. Penn State will have to contend with the loss of AVCA Second Team All-American setter Luke Murray to graduation and AVCA National Co-Player of the Year outside hitter Matt Anderson to the professional ranks, but the Nittany Lions gain the services of three redshirt players who all have international experience. Redshirt freshman setter Edgardo Goas, redshirt freshman outside hitter Joe Sunder and redshirt junior Will Price will all see action for the Lions. Penn State returns one of the strongest middle hitter tandems in the country with senior Max Holt, a 2008 AVCA First Team All-American, and junior Max Lipsitz, a 2008 AVCA Second Team All-American. Also returning for the Lions is AVCA Second Team All-American libero Dennis Del Valle who led the squad with 2.64 digs per game along with senior opposite Ryan Sweitzer and senior outside hitter Jay Stauffer, both of whom were mainstays in last season's championship run.
The Series: Penn State vs. Southern California
Penn State trails Southern California, 15-5, in a series that began in 1980. The last meeting was a three-game Trojan win (30-26, 30-22, 30-27) on March 8, 2006 in Los Angeles. The last Nittany Lion victory was a three-game win (32-30, 30-27, 30-24) on Feb. 12, 2005 in University Park, Pa.
The Series: Penn State vs. Ohio State
Penn State leads Ohio State, 59-22, in a series that began in 1978. The last meeting was a four-game Nittany Lion win (30-21, 26-30, 30-22, 30-17) on May 1, 2008 in the NCAA Semifinals in Irvine, Calif. The last meeting at the Outrigger Invitational was a five-game Buckeye win (22-30, 30-24, 30-27, 31-33, 17-15) on Jan. 20, 2006.
The Series: Penn State vs. Hawaii
Penn State trails Hawaii, 12-4, in a series that began in 1995. The last meeting was at last season's Outrigger Invitational and was a four-game Nittany Lion victory (21-30, 30-24, 30-20, 30-18) on Jan. 3, 2008.
Penn State and the Outrigger Invitational
This will be the 15th year of competition for the Nittany Lions at the Outrigger Invitational. Penn State joins only host Hawaii as the only teams to compete every year since the tournament's inception in 1995. Last season the Nittany Lions claimed the Outrigger championship for the first time in program history, defeating Hawaii, UCLA and Ball State en route to the title.
Next Up
Penn State returns home to host its annual Alumni match on Saturday, Jan. 17 at 3:00 p.m. before officially opening the home slate on Friday, Jan. 23 against Ball 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. The Penn State men's volleyball 2009 season is presented by Rockvale Outlets and The Outlets At Hershey.