UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- No. 14 Penn State Men's Volleyball is set to take on two more nationally-ranked opponents this weekend at the First Point Collegiate Challenge in Austin, Texas. The Nittany Lions play No. 1 UCLA on Friday at 5 p.m. ET and then battle No. 11 Stanford on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET.
Friday's match against the Bruins will air on ESPNU, while the contest with the Cardinal will stream on ESPN+. All matches at the event will be played at the Austin Convention Center.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Friday, Jan. 17 – 5 p.m. ET
#14 Penn State (0-2, 0-0 EIVA) vs. #1 UCLA (1-0, 0-0 MPSF) | Live Stats | ESPNU
Saturday, Jan. 18 – 5 p.m. ET
#14 Penn State (0-2, 0-0 EIVA) vs. #11 Stanford (1-1, 0-0 MPSF) | Live Stats | ESPN+
OPENING NOTES
• Penn State is set to compete in the First Point Collegiate Challenge in Austin, Texas for the third-consecutive season. The event is played at the Austin Convention Center.
• The Nittany Lions are 2-2 all-time at the First Point Collegiate Challenge, beating No. 5 Pepperdine and No. 8 Stanford in 2023, and losing to No. 8 Stanford and No. 1 UCLA in 2024.
SERIES HISTORY - UCLA
• Penn State and UCLA will meet for the 45th time. The teams first played in 1982.
• UCLA leads the series 35-8-1, including a 3-1 win at the First Point Collegiate Challenge last season.
SCOUTING UCLA
• UCLA, the two-time defending NCAA champion, is the top-ranked team in the country after starting 1-0 with a 3-0 win over Saint Francis.
• The Bruins were picked first in the 2025 MPSF Preseason Poll. They return three All-Americans in setter Andrew Rowan and pin hitters Cooper Robinson and Ido David.
• John Hawks, who was the head coach at Loyola Chicago the past two seasons, is the new head coach at UCLA after taking over for John Speraw when he left to become the president and CEO of USA Volleyball. Hawks was an assistant coach under Speraw for seven seasons at UCLA (2015-22).
SERIES HISTORY - STANFORD
• Penn State and Stanford will play for the 14th time in program history. The teams first played in 1992.
• The Nittany Lions lead 7-6 in the all-time series.
• The teams have met twice in the First Point Collegiate Challenge, with Penn State winning 3-1 in 2023 and Stanford winning 3-0 in 2024.
• Penn State has won six of the past nine matches in the series.
SCOUTING STANFORD
• Stanford is the 11th-ranked team in the country after starting 1-1 with a series split against then-No. 5 Ball State last weekend.
• The Cardinal were picked sixth in the 2025 MPSF Preseason Poll.
• Like Penn State, Stanford lost a large chunk of its starting lineup from last season. The Cardinal do not have a senior on the roster.
HOT START FOR KUHNS
• Redshirt senior Will Kuhns is off to a hot start in his final collegiate season as he is taking advantage of his first season as a full-time starter.
• The outside hitter was named the EIVA Offensive Player of the Week for the first time in his career after hitting .488 while averaging 3.57 kills/set in road matches against No. 12 Loyola Chicago and No. 14 Lewis last week. He made just the fifth and sixth starts of his career.
CAREER HIGHS SET LAST WEEK
at #12 Loyola Chicago
• Gaige Gabriel - kills (2), aces (1), blocks (3)
• Matthew Luoma - aces (1), blocks (3)
• Miller Trubey - digs (5)
at #14 Lewis
• Gaige Gabriel - digs (2)
• Sean Harvey - kills (7), digs (4), blocks (1)
• Blainey Jones- digs (2)
• Will Kuhns - kills (13)
• Matthew Luoma - kills (7), digs (2)
UP NEXT
• No. 14 Penn State plays a pair of matches against No. 13 Ohio State next week. The Nittany Lions host the Buckeyes on Thursday at 7 p.m., and then travel to Columbus for a match on Sunday at 3 p.m.