Finally! That is exactly what the No. 11 Penn State men's volleyball team (3-3) is thinking as it begins its home schedule against Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association foe Rutgers-Newark (2-3, 1-0 EIVA)

The Nittany Lions had their first home match against St. Francis (Pa.) cancelled, not once, but twice. The game has been rescheduled for Feb. 17. This change should not effect the Lions because they have had this type of break every week this season. During the break, Penn State men's volleyball coach Mark Pavlik has been practicing the team hard in an effort to keep the players from getting rusty.

"[The cancellations] will just make the team hungrier," Pavlik said. "This is a team that has been wanting to play at home and they'll be ready to go."

Penn State comes into tonight riding the confidence of its tough non-conference schedule, which included a split with defending national champion Lewis University.

Lions outside hitter Keith Kowal, the EIVA Player of the Week, will be ready to show off his new form.

Over the past three weeks, Kowal has been lighting up opposing defenses with a ridiculous .509 hitting percentage in 24 games.

Kowal would have lower numbers if it wasn't for sophomore setter Dan O'Dell, who is averaging an absurd 13.58 assists.

"Hitters will never be good without a good setter and a setter will never be good with out a good hitter; it's a two way street," Pavlik said. "Dan has been making good decisions and Keith has been taking advantage. We'd actually like to see Dan give Keith and Meer [Nate Meerstien] the ball more."

Rutgers-Newark has not had an easy non-conference schedule, either. The Scarlet Raiders have three common opponents with Penn State: Ball State (a loss), Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne (a loss), and Lewis (a win).

Both Rutgers-Newark and Penn State lost matches to Ball State and beat Lewis.

However, the Lions beat Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne 3-1 last Saturday, whereas the Scarlet Raiders lost 3-1 at IPFW on Jan. 16.

The win over Lewis shows that Rutgers-Newark is no pushover this year. Their leader on offense is sophomore outside hitter Brian Honsberger, who has 87 kills in 18 games.

"[Rutgers-Newark] is one of the best coached teams in the league." Pavlik said. "They are going to try and counter our size with their size and also they will have an aggressive serve."

"Also [Rutgers men's volleyball coach] Sean [Byron] has guaranteed us they will be here [tonight]," Pavlik said. "He's from Buffalo and said the 12 inches of snow we got is just a dusting."