UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Following a season that brought Penn State men's volleyball's 17th consecutive trip the NCAA national semifinals, the Nittany Lions are ready to return to action, releasing the 2016 schedule this afternoon. Featuring matchups against seven teams ranked within the final 2015 AVCA DI-II Top 15 Coaches Poll, the competitive slate also includes 19 home dates in Rec Hall.Loyola, UC Irvine, Long Beach State, USC, Lewis, Ohio State, and UCLA all finished within the top 15 poll last year.Penn State kicks off the 2016 season welcoming Ohio State, UCLA and USC to town. Penn State will open the season against USC on Jan. 7, followed by a Friday matchup against UCLA on Jan 8.The blue and white will take the court the following day, Jan. 9, for their annual Alumni Match in South Gym.The Nittany Lions hit the road for a challenging weekend, traveling to play back-to-back national champion Loyola on Jan. 14 followed by the 2015 national runner-up Lewis on Jan. 16.After two non-conference matches against Ball State (Jan. 22) and IPFW (Jan. 23) the following week Penn State will play their first EIVA match of the year as they travel to Loretto, Pennsylvania, for a matchup against Saint Francis Jan. 30.Following a home match against Mount Olive (Feb. 6), a quick trip to Harvard and Sacred Heart will wrap up road travel for the Nittany Lions unitl April, returning home for an 11 game home stand.Penn State will host NJIT, Princeton, Charleston, George Mason, Cal State Northridge, Long Beach, Saint Francis, Ohio State, UC Irvine, Lewis and Loyola between Feb. 19 and March 26.Penn State will hit the road for the first time in over a month on April 1 as they travel to Princeton, followed by a quick trip to NJIT on April 2.The Nittany Lions will make a mid-week trip to Columbus (Ohio State) on April 5 before finishing the week hosting Harvard and Sacred Heart Friday and Saturday, respectively.The regular season will conclude with trips to Charleston (April 15), and George Mason on April 16.The annual EIVA Championship will take place April 21-23 at the site of the school receiving the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament.For the second consecutive year, the NCAA Play In match will determine the final field for the NCAA tournament. This year's Play-In match is set for May 3 in Rec Hall. The 2016 NCAA national championships are May 5-7 and will be hosted by Penn State, marking the sixth time in school history that Rec Hall has hosted the event.The Nittany Lions closed out the 2015 season with a 21-10 overall mark, including a 12-0 record in EIVA action. Penn State also captured its 27th overall and 17th straight EIVA Championship title last year, following a pair of straight-set victories against George Mason and Princeton in the tournament.Penn State lost three starters from a year ago, with graduating seniors Connor Curry, Nick Goodell, and Aaron Russell completing their careers in the blue and white.Redshirt-junior Matt Callaway, redshirt-senior Matt Seifert, and junior Chris Nugent (Second Team All-EIVA, 2015 EIVA Championship All-Tournament team) highlight the returners from last year’s team that reached the NCAA semifinals last spring.
The complete 2016 schedule can be found at http://www.gopsusports.com/sports/m-volley/sched/psu-m-volley-sched.html.