It no longer matters how dominating the No. 7 Penn State men's volleyball team was during the regular season.

Its undefeated record in EIVA play earned it the top seed and the right to serve as host for the tournament. After that, though, the playing field is level again.

And with the Nittany Lions (20-7, 12-0 EIVA) having won the last eight EIVA titles -- 18 overall since joining the league -- the pressure is on them to come through with title No. 9.

After watching the first two rounds of the EIVA's playoff with a bye, the Lions postseason starts with the EIVA semifinal match against Princeton at 7:30 tonight.

"The pressure is on us," Penn State coach Mark Pavlik said. "The toughest matches to win are the ones that you're supposed to win, and you have to win to go on."

Against Princeton, the Lions face an energetic team that posted a record of 6-6 in regular-season EIVA play.

Two of the losses came from Penn State.

Since these two teams last played, Princeton has had a run of good luck.

Princeton edged Juniata for the fourth seed in the tournament and a first-round bye.

Then in the quarterfinals, they defeated Juniata in five games for a semifinal berth.

Assuming Penn State's seeding holds true, and the Lions dispatch Princeton, they would then face the winner of the Saint Francis-George Mason semifinal match in the EIVA Championship match at 7: 30 p.m. on Saturday.

And if Penn State's seeding holds true throughout the tournament, it will be holding up its ninth consecutive EIVA title -- which comes with a May 3 date in Columbus, Ohio for the NCAA semi-finals.

Setter Luke Murray was frank when asked about what nine straight EIVA championships would mean.

"Domination," Murray said. "Pretty much, we've been looked at as the best team and everybody else is just playing for second in the EIVA. That must be frustrating for them, but we want to keep our choke-hold on it if we can."

While Penn State hasn't played since its April 14 loss to Loyola, its chances of maintaining that chokehold look bright as it enters the tournament in good form.

"I think the last week and a half of practice has been the best we've had all year," captain Ryan Walthall said. "I mean, we're playing at a level right now that I don't think anybody expected that we would, so we're feeling pretty good going into this."

With the postseason finally here, Murray said this is what the team has been waiting for all year, but also mentioned the pressure that is on them to win now.

"We're expected to win," Murray said. "That comes with pressure, but I think everybody's ready for it, so I think we'll rise to the occasion."