Wednesday night marked a beginning and an end for the men's volleyball team.

Penn State's five-set loss to Manitoba marked the end of its nine-game winning streak. The loss does not count against the No. 4 Lions' (9-1) official record.

The Lions must now get ready for to begin a 36-day road trip. They will not return to the familiar confines of Rec Hall until March 23. The trip includes four matches within the next six days. A five-day vacation is afforded the Lions before they begin a spring break road trip to the West Coast to face BYU, San Diego State, Long Beach State and Cal-State Northridge.

"We are pretty much used to not playing at home," setter Jim Schall said. "It won't affect us that much."

Penn State starts its trip tonight when it faces No. 17 Navy in the semifinals of a four-team tournament. The other semifinal matches No. 14 George Mason and Manitoba. The action takes place at Coatesville High School. The consolation and final match will take place tomorrow at Central York High School.

"We are going to put it behind us," outside hitter Jorge Perez said of Wednesday night's loss.

"A quality loss is fine," assistant coach Mark Pavlik said. "The guys can build on that. When they are in that situation again, we can push it that extra inch or so."

Navy has yet to defeat Penn State, bringing an 0-14 series record into the game. The last time the teams met was in the semifinals of the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association tournament last April. Penn State needed four games to dispose of the Midshipmen.

"I expect them to have a better team than last year, (because of) the guys coming back," Schall said. "They are usually pretty small and scrappy; they play good defense and they hustle."

Penn State will be expecting a rematch with Manitoba in tomorrow night's final.

"These guys are going in (to the tournament) wanting another shot at the big boys from Manitoba," Pavlik said. "I'm looking forward to it. I think the guys are too."

Penn State opens its EIVA regular season Feb. 19 at George Mason and Feb. 20 at Navy.

The Lions have already dumped George Mason twice this season, once in the semifinals of the Nittany Lion Invitational and once in last weekend's Dutch Country Classic.