First held during the early 1970s, the Penn State men's volleyball annual alumni match has been a staple since its inception.

This year will be no different, as the current batch of Nittany Lions, including some first-timers, will take part in the time-tested tradition when they face off against some of the program's alumni at 3 p.m. tomorrow in Rec Hall's South Gym.

The alumni match began when then-Penn State men's club volleyball coach Tom Tait (who would later guide Penn State volleyball, men and women, to Division I status) invited program alumni back to Happy Valley to play against the current team -- and to eat chili.

Back then, the team was classified under club status, and team members drove to local tournaments, slept on dorm room floors and paid for uniforms and equipment on their own.

Over the next three decades the program would undergo numerous changes. The team shifted from club status to D-I, and as the sport grew, the team was flown to Hawaii for tournaments and Nike started providing the team with equipment.

"It's generally a very nice time for us to get back to our roots," current Penn State head coach Mark Pavlik said.

Among the Lions slated to return are two-time AVCA First-Team All-American and current Puerto Rico national team member Jose Quinones, along with Dan O'Dell --although it's unknown if O'Dell will play -- a key contributor and starter from last season's national runner-up squad.

In addition to the returning stars of the past, Pavlik mentioned one portion of the game play specifically -- "the geezer game."

"The oldest guys there against our youngest guys. We'll have all the true freshman, whether they're red-shirting or not. We'll have the freshman play, and they'll have guys that graduated in '72, '73, '74," Pavlik said. "That's usually fun. Then after that, we'll head down to the Atherton for the alumni banquet."

No word if chili is on the menu.