The No. 9 Penn State men's volleyball team opens its EIVA play at 7:30 tonight against George Mason in Rec Hall.

The Nittany Lions (1-2, EIVA Tait 0-0) are coming off a disappointing performance in Hawaii and look to bounce back against George Mason (1-0, EIVA 0-0) in league play.

"This match is real important," said sophomore Zeljko Koljesar. "We are at a higher level than George Mason. Even though we lost out in Hawaii, we still have confidence and we feel we are a pretty good team.

"But, if we take an overconfident attitude into the game we can lose because we can't afford to overlook anyone. We have to perfect our game against the East Coast because that is what we will need against the West Coast."

The Lions ran through league play last year, finishing with an undefeated record. The Lions hope for a repeat performance that will once again take them all the way to the NCAA Championships.

"Honestly, I think we should be favored in all of our EIVA matches," said Penn State coach Mark Pavlik.

"The rally score format, though, is a great equalizer. If we block, serve and play defense like we are capable of we should be able to handle the EIVA part of our schedule well."

This year George Mason's starting lineup features one senior, three juniors, and two sophomores. In their last match the Patriots set a team record for service aces as they scorched Southampton with 16. Senior outside hitter Andre Melo set the individual record for aces with eight.

"We faced two pretty good jump serving teams in Hawaii," Pavlik said. "We handled them pretty well and, I think we will be able to handle Mason's serving as well."

Last year George Mason finished 5-9 in the EIVA and was bounced in round one of the EIVA tournament. Penn State was able to defeat George Mason twice last season.

Carlos Guerra dominated the Patriots in 2000, peppering them with 37 kills and in the first match hitting .824 — a career high hit percentage.

The Lions will have to get by in this match without starting sophomore middle hitter Zach Slenker. Slenker twisted an ankle in the fourth game of Penn State's match against UCLA in Hawaii. Slenker, who is wearing a walking cast, could return next week pending MRI results.

Starting for Slenker is junior middle hitter Josh Briggs. Coach Mark Pavlik is confident that the addition of Briggs to the lineup should go smoothly.