When the No. 9 Penn State men's volleyball team travels to No. 15 George Mason at 7 p.m. tomorrow, the match will feel a little like a big brother/little brother relationship.

The Nittany Lions (13-6, 9-0 EIVA) assume the role of big brother. For years they have been the EIVA elder bully, knocking around younger inexperienced competition night in and night out, as evidenced by their 17 conference titles in the last 20 years.

This season, though, the Patriots (16-5, 5-1 EIVA) have taken on the role of little brother. With their EIVA record sitting at 5-1, with their lone loss coming from Penn State, they're that scrappy younger sibling that thinks he's ready to compete with big bro and wants to prove that he can hold his own in the fight.

And normally in a sibling rivalry the little brother will get some good shots in, but ultimately big brother ends up pummeling him in the end. The Lions hope that analogy will end up the same in the upcoming match.

"I think last year they moved their Senior Night to the next to last match because they didn't want to have a loss on their Senior Night [against us]," senior co-captain Matt Proper said jokingly. "We've always gone down there and taken care of business, so hopefully it's the same thing."

To be fair, these aren't the same Patriots from a year ago by any stretch.

They've got real firepower on the outside, with the duo of Shaun Powell and Hudson Bates, who lead the team with 5.19 and 3.41 kills per game, respectively.

On the defensive side they've got Matt Steinfurth in the middle, who's averaging 1.74 blocks a game.

This will be the second meeting between the "siblings," with the last match ending in a three-game sweep by Penn State. That wasn't the Patriots' best match and Penn State head coach Mark Pavlik is well aware.

"They did not play well here, they'll be the first to admit that," Pavlik said. "But down there, they're going to have a crowd and it's going to be loud. I don't think it's going to be easy."

What makes this battle even more intense is what's at stake if the Lions pull out the victory.

Sitting at a 9-0 conference record, a win at George Mason clinches another EIVA title for the Lions.

And just how important is an EIVA title? If Penn State wins the regular-season title, it gets to host the EIVA Championships at Rec Hall where the Lions are a near perfect 8-1 this season.

A win at EIVAs guarantees a spot in the NCAA Championships, which Rec Hall just happens to be hosting as well.

That's why Pavlik says this match will be "crucial."

"I don't want to hang around and have to beat Princeton and Rutgers," Pavlik said. "Let's make sure we can clinch [the EIVA] and go from there."

For the Lions to clinch, they'll need offensive production from every member of the team. In the last match with the Patriots, five Lions had at least six kills, and Penn State hit .394 as a team.

They'll also have to dig some of the rockets coming from the hands of Powell and Bates. Junior libero Ryan Walthall, who saw his first start last match against Ohio State because of a suspension to Aaron Smith, will have to continue to learn the subtleties of the position against some of the country's top hitters.

As much as big bro will want to exude physical dominance over little bro, it better not take its weaker adversary too lightly.

"They're out to prove something," Pavlik said. "We're going to have our hands full down there."