The No. 11 Nittany Lions (11-10, 4-0 Tait) begin their hardest challenge of the weekend at 7:30 p.m. today when they travel to George Mason (7-5, 3-1). The Lions then play at Eastern Mennonite at 2 p.m. tomorrow before returning home to battle Vassar (7-9) at 2 p.m. Sunday in Rec Hall.

If Penn State completes the sweep of all three teams this weekend, it will clinch the EIVA conference and clinch position as host of the EIVA Tournament on April 17, April 29 and May 1.

Against George Mason, the challenge will not only be in the six players across the net, but in the hostile Patriot crowd.

George Mason players enter the match with something more to play for. Coach and former Patriots star Uvaldo Acosta is having his jersey retired prior to tonight's match.

Penn State coach Mark Pavlik expects a tough fight with the Patriots, but believes if the Lions should prevail as long as they stay focused.

"They will have a lot of fans there," Pavlik said. "It should be loud to play in, but we can't worry about the crowd. The best way to overcome the crowd is by playing hard and staying focused. If we control the ball on our side of the net and make good passes and good sets, we should win."

Penn State defeated George Mason last season and is 60-11 against the Patriots.

The Lions are riding a four-match winning streak, a streak in which they have not dropped a game in any of the matches.

Penn State swept St. Francis (Pa.) Wednesday night in Rec Hall behind strong play from outside hitter Scott Lapp, swing hitter Tony Mazzullo and middle blocker Sergio Pampena. Though Pampena and Mazzullo only played in the first game, the two combined for 10 kills while hitting over .800 for the match.

Pavlik pulled his starters after game one and gave his reserves a chance to play. The Lions saw strong play from opposite hitter George Papadakis, who had seven kills and seven digs in the two games he played.

George Mason, meanwhile, is trying to rebound from the three-game sweep it suffered at the hands of Juniata last Friday.

Tomorrow's match at Eastern Mennonite presents the Lions with another hostile-crowd situation.

"They have a small gym and pack in about 250 screaming fans," Pavlik said. "Vassar is very similar to them but George Mason has probably the best hitters between all three teams."

After Sunday's match, Penn State has two weeks off to prepare for Springfield on Friday, April 2.