The Penn State men's volleyball team has been named preseason No. 1 by Volleyball Magazine in its Jan. 2 poll. The Nittany Lions finished the 2001 season tied for seventh in the rankings after falling to eventual NCAA champion BYU in the national semi-final.

Penn State is led by first team All America selection and EIVA Player of the Year Jose Quinones. Joining Quinones is sophomore Ricky Mattei, Carlos Guerra, Zelimir Koljesar, John Mills and Zach Slenker.

Eight of Penn State's 17 opponents are ranked in the poll, including Hawaii, UCLA, Stanford and Ball State. Lewis, Loyola-Chicago, Ohio State and George Mason also received votes in the preseason poll.

Penn State opens its regular season play on the road against Ohio State on Friday, Jan. 11 at 7 p.m. in Columbus, Ohio. The Lions then travel to the Outrigger Invitational in Honolulu, Hawaii on Jan. 17-19 for matches against Hawaii, UCLA and Lewis.

Penn State will host the NCAA Preview Tournament Feb. 1-2, which includes Lewis, Stanford and George Mason.

The culmination of the 2002 season will end at Penn State also, as the Lions play host to the 2002 NCAA Men's Collegiate Championship May 2 & 4 at Rec Hall.