For a successful road trip to Blacksburg, Va., the No. 57 Penn State men's tennis team will need to bring something extra with it -- the noise.

The Nittany Lions (9-1, 1-1 Big Ten) finish off their non-conference schedule this weekend with a match against Duquesne that will immediately follow the conclusion of the Penn State women's match at 2:30 p.m. today in the Penn State Indoor Tennis Center. The Lions will then travel to play rival Virginia Tech at noon on Sunday.

A key component for the Lions to make a strong showing against the No. 49 Hokies (11-4) will be to play with energy and emotion.

Specifically, Penn State coach Bill Potoczny wants his player to vocalize that emotion and intensity this weekend.

"When you're getting ready for a big match, like against Virginia Tech, you have to do the things that you can control," Potoczny said. "Emotion, playing with spunk, those are things you can control. It helps get guys into a rhythm, or if they are already in their rhythm, they can help their teammates."

While Potoczny has noticed some improvement in his team's ability to get loud in a match, he noted that it is not part of the team's identity yet.

In last season's match, at Penn State, the Lions were able to come away with a tight 4-3 victory.

But playing an away match against a very worthy opponent, the Lions will need any edge they can get to come out on top.

"We're just trying to be really energetic -- being loud on the court and pumped up and keep the energy up," junior Ryan Berger said. "We'll need all we can get against Virginia Tech."

The matchup against Virginia Tech looks to be a close one, up and down the lineup, Berger said.

With no team having a clear-cut advantage as far as players goes, the doubles point will be extremely important if the singles come down to a 3-3 draw.

With no pairing obviously steeping ahead of the others, the current doubles situation is unclear, Potoczny said. However, the entire team has been improving in doubles play, but just needs to find more consistency.

While the Lions should be able to take care of Duquesne (1-7) this afternoon, they can use the match to work on being more consistent -- in the doubles and by being more vocal on the court. Working on those little things could transfer to a big day in Blacksburg on Sunday and a nice five-match win streak heading into the heart of the Big Ten season.

"Playing at home gives [Virginia Tech] a small advantage, but in tennis usually the better team wins," Potoczny said. "If we can play solid and control things like playing with speed and energy, it comes down to, 'Can we make some plays?' "

"We have the talent to do it. Of course, Tech is just as talented."