Starting on Thursday, the Penn State men’s volleyball team will be fighting to win its 23rd EIVA Championship. The Nittany Lions will host the tournament due to winning the regular season crown. On the line is a trip to the NCAA Tournament, which will also be hosted by Penn State.

On Thursday, No. 1 Penn State will take on No. 4 Rutgers-Newark at 8 p.m. The Scarlet Raiders reached this point by beating No. 5 St. Francis last Saturday. Penn State and Rutgers-Newark met twice in the regular season, with Penn State winning both contests. On February 11, Rutgers-Newark gave Penn State some trouble at Rec Hall, but the Nittany Lions prevailed 3-1. On March 26, Tom Comfort paced the Nittany Lions to a 3-0 victory with 13 kills.

If heavily-favored Penn State wins on Thursday, it will advance to the final to take on either No.2 George Mason or No. 3 Springfield on Saturday at 7 p.m. The Nittany Lions went a combined 4-0 against those teams during the regular season en route to a perfect 10-0 record in the EIVA. Overall, Penn State finished the regular season at 22-6.

The Nittany Lions had a few lulls during the season, but the team will not take any of their EIVA Championship opponents lightly. Penn State must win both games, or its season is over. With a strong showing at Rec Hall, the Nittany Lions should advance to yet another NCAA Tournament.

Upcoming schedule (All matches at Rec Hall):

Thursday: No.2 George Mason vs. No. 3 Springfield, 5:30 p.m.
No. 1 Penn State vs. No. 4 Rutgers-Newark, 8 p.m.

Saturday: EIVA Championship Final, 7 p.m.