While many students on campus were tucked in their beds, members of the No. 11 Penn State men's volleyball team were up, gathering last minute items needed for a trip to Hawaii.

The team departed for Honolulu at 4 a.m. yesterday, but it packed away sneakers and gym shorts, not sunscreen.

"It's all volleyball. It's business," Penn State men's volleyball coach Mark Pavlik said of the Outrigger Invitational Tournament, held on the Hawaiian island of Oahu.

The Nittany Lions (1-1, 1-0 EIVA) will play three matches in as many days, from tonight to Friday, against some of the top competition in the nation.

The Lions face No. 7 Hawaii at midnight tonight. Tomorrow they play No. 5 UCLA, followed by a matchup against No. 9 Ohio State on Friday, with both games at 9 p.m.

The Lions started off the season with a win, but followed it up with a disappointing 3-0 loss to then-No. 14 Ball State on Saturday. Heading into the big tournament, some players don't have a good feeling about their prospects for the week, given the letdown vs. Ball State.

"We need to be able to pick balls up then convert on them, and right now we're not on that level," senior co-captain Matt Proper said. "And if you ask me if I'm worried about next week, yes, I am ... we have to show a little more heart with the volleyball side of it."

Hawaii (1-1), led by junior outside hitter Lauri Hakala, is hitting an incredible .449 in two matches this season. Hakala has notched 38 kills, while hitting .508. The Warriors faced the Lions in last year's Outrigger and defeated them, 3-2.

Another familiar opponent is UCLA (2-2). The Bruins, who faced the Lions twice last season, were responsible for two of their four losses in the 2005 campaign. The second meeting was in the national semifinals; UCLA lost to Pepperdine in the championship.

"You can't play tentative, you gotta play real aggressive against those guys," Pavlik said. "You gotta be in for the long run because you're not gonna have any easy games."

Redshirt freshman Jamie Diefenbach, a 6-foot-7 middle hitter, leads the team in hitting percentage at .490 while also dominating defensively with 17 blocks. Outside hitter Paul George, a junior, has tallied 54 kills.

Ohio State (5-0) was also at last year's Final Four, representing the MIVA, but fell to Pepperdine in the semifinal game. The Buckeyes and Lions met twice in the regular season last year, the Lions winning each contest.

To some extent, this week will let Pavlik know if his team is a contender, or pretender.

"[This tournament] always is a big measuring stick, always is," Pavlik said.