For the 41st year in a row, Penn State women’s volleyball is heading to the NCAA Tournament.

This time, the Nittany Lions enter the bracket as an unseeded at-large representative. As a result, they’ll leave their home turf and head to Pittsburgh to open the tournament against Towson on Friday, December 3. First serve from Petersen Events Center is set for 4 p.m.

Towson boasts a 26-4 overall record after claiming the Colonial Athletic Association’s regular-season and tournament titles. Senior outside hitter Fay Bakodimou leads the team with 300 kills on .252 hitting, while junior middle blocker Lydia Wiers follows closely behind with 218 kills on .352 hitting, plus a team-leading 131 total blocks.

The Tigers punched their tickets to their third straight NCAA Tournament berth this season. Towson visited Rec Hall during 2019’s tournament and beat American before Penn State defeated the Tigers 3-1 in the second round.

Penn State is 22-0 in first-round NCAA Tournament matches since the bracket expanded to 64 teams back in 1998. However, all of those matches were played on home turf on Rec Hall, so a visit to an unfamiliar gym could add another challenge and dynamic to the tournament’s opening phases.

Should Penn State beat Towson, the Nittany Lions will play the winner of UMBC and No. 3 national seed Pitt, which is hosting the regional. Penn State owns respective 1-0 and 3-0 records over Towson and Pitt, respectively, in NCAA Tournament play.

Penn State is one of eight Big Ten teams featured in this year’s bracket — the most of any conference in the country.

Head coach Russ Rose will attempt to guide Penn State to its eighth national championship. He’s brought the Nittany Lions to every NCAA Tournament since its inception back in 1981.