Men's Volleyball Update: Doin' A Little West Coast Swaaaang

Sure it's been awhile since you last got an update on the men's volleyball team. But did you really miss much?

The Penn State regular season schedule has about as much excitement as a Pittsburgh to State College drive. Even big volleyball fans like myself find it hard to get excited with such powerhouses as Laval and IUPUI on the slate. Unfortunately, those are the cards we're dealt playing volleyball in the northeast. So consider this your halftime report, as the squad heads into an exciting west coast trip and then begins the second half push for another title.

Unfortunately, though, this team does not have Megan Hodge on it, so there won't be as many pictures.

When we last met, the Penn State team was coming off a heartbreaking loss to Loyola-Chicago. Fortunately for them, the next six matches were at home, and they would only lose two sets in those six matches, finishing the home stand 6-0. They have since added three more victories, including beating a tough Ohio State team in Columbus (that makes two victories over OSU this year; the Buckeyes will have one more shot at revenge during a televised-on-the-BTN match March 21), and handing those Tiger-pansies from Princeton a devastating 3-0 loss. Princeton...the Penn State of New Jersey.

However, playing in the EIVA only allows for so much travel (and so much domination, the Loyola loss notwithstanding). That is why the team schedules such matches as the three on the current west coast swing, beginning tonight in Irvine, CA against 11th ranked UC-Irvine. Penn State will also take on BYU and Long Beach State in this trip to the left coast, getting away from the ever-approaching rain and soaking up some Lane Kiffin worthy tail.

Finally, since we last spoke, a couple of accolades have been passed out. On February 8, Joe Sunder was named the EIVA Player of the Week. Not to be outdone, three weeks later, teammate Ryan Wolf earned the same honor. This makes four EIVA PotW honors for the 2010 season, with Edgardo Goas and Will Price earning the honors earlier in the year. A Career Match will be held at the end of the season to see who has the biggest schwartz.

See? I told you that not much has gone on around here. After this trip, the men will return home to finish out their (yawn) season, and head into the postseason. After losing to Loyola, the team fell to 9th ranked, rose to 7th during their recent 9 game win streak, but have somehow fallen back to 9th. Either way, their a shoo-in for the post season tournament and will hopefully be playing for the crown on May 8 in Palo Alto, CA. Stay tuned!