UNIVERSITSY PARK, Pa. -- No. 13 Penn State men's volleyball (21-10) has earned the No. 5 seed heading into NCAA postseason play, as announced by the NCAA this afternoon. The Nittany Lions swept past Saint Francis (Pa.) to win their 30th EIVA tournament title Saturday, Apr. 22, earning the conference's automatic bid to postseason play.
"Hawai'i may be the hottest team in the country right now and given their offensive and defensive play they give anyone they play enough concerns," said head coach Mark Pavlik. "Coach Charlie Wade always has them ready to compete. We are looking forward to the challenge."
Penn State will face fourth-seeded Hawaii (26-5) in the second of the two play-in matches Tuesday, May 2, at 8 p.m. at St. John Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The winner of the matchup will move on to meet top-ranked and tournament host Ohio State (30-2) in the NCAA national semifinals, Thursday, May 4 at 8 p.m.
The first play-in match features No. 3 seed BYU (24-4) and No. 6 seed Barton (23-5) with the winner advancing to the NCAA national semifinals to play No. 2 seed Long Beach State (27-3). Each semifinal match will stream LIVE on NCAA.com.
The winners of both semifinal matches will advance to the NCAA national final Saturday, May 6, at 7 p.m. ET in St. John Arena. The matchup will broadcast live on ESPNU. For more information on the 2017 NCAA national championship and ticket information, please click here.
Hawaii's 2017 tournament season came to a close with a 3-1 loss to Long Beach State in the MPSF Championship match. The Rainbow Warriors finished the season with a 26-5 overall record and an 14-4 mark in MPSF play before earning one of two NCAA at-large bids to the postseason.
Penn State is coming off of its 30th EIVA Tournament Championship in program history after topping the Red Flash 3-0 (25-19, 25-14, 25-20) Saturday evening. Chris Nugent was named the tournament MOP, while Luke Braswell, Aidan Albrecht and Calvin Mende joined him on the all-tournament team.