After a few games against lesser competition, the No. 11 Penn State men's volleyball team (5-3, 2-0 EIVA) will get back to its grueling non-conference schedule when it takes on Southern California (1-8, 0-5 MPSF) and the University of California-San Diego (4-4, 2-3 MPSF).
Don't let USC's record fool you.
The Trojans are still a good volleyball team, they have just played one of the hardest schedules imaginable.
They have lost their last eight matches to teams in the top 10 of the AVCA Poll.
They have lost two matches to top-ranked UCLA and to No. 6 Long Beach State.
Penn State will try to shut down the USC offense by using its size in the middle to block shots.
Former Trojan's player Phil Small, who stands a tall 6-foot-11, has been used by Penn State to help shut down other team's offense.
The only problem for Penn State is that USC can match the Lions size-for-size, especially on the outside.
With three players on their front line standing 6-foot-3 and taller, including their leading scorer, senior outside hitter Joao Grangeiro, the Trojans eliminate the size advantage Penn State has enjoyed against its recent opponents, like Juniata.
"You can throw the records out the window when you play USC," Penn State men's volleyball coach Mark Pavlik said. "They are a bigger, stronger team than those we have faced recently, but that doesn't mean that they will over-power us."
After that possibly physically draining match, Penn State has to immediately spring back into action with tomorrow night's contest against UC-San Diego. The Tritons have only recently been dropped from the top 15 in the AVCA poll.
Senior Jim Walker, junior Adam Toren and sophomore Jeff Urton lead the Tritons with more than 300 combined kills.
"They are a smaller team compared to USC] but still physical," Pavlik said. "They are really well-coached, and will play hard and smart just like any [UC-San Diego coach] Ron Larsen coached team."
Penn State has been on a roll lately, winning its last three matches and only dropping one game over that period. Kowal leads the team in kills with 122 and Meerstien leads the team in blocks, with 38.
The key for the Lions this weekend will be senior libero Ricky Mattei because it will be nearly impossible for Penn State to get their hands on many of the kill attempts.
Mattei will have to come up with some key digs if they are to have success.
Mattei leads the Lions in digs with 74 through 30 games.
-- By Mark Myers
