Volleyball: Men's

I'm not sure why I'm naming this Tom's Edition. We all know Mike has checked out for the year. I'll try to get him on here to finally wrap this season up right, but I'm not making any promises.

Yet, without further adieu....onto the awards. I really wanted to name these something clever, but I'm 99.9% checked out as it is. I guess if we wanted to stick with a name we'll call them "The Pav's". Sound good to you guys? Let's do it.

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Player of the Year: Max Holt

Was there ever really a doubt? First team All-America, sets a school record for aces in a career and was quite possibly the most dominant player Penn State has ever had. Holt had a monster year and will be a total monster for what ever team is lucky enough to ink the "bad, bad man" to a contract.

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Break-Out Player of the Year: Will Price

Not sure there was ever a doubt on this one either. You might be able to make a case for freshmen Joe Sunder and Edgardo Goas, but Price was a freak of nature down the stretch for Penn State. His serve was a thing of beauty and he made a ton of hustle plays for the Nittany Lions. Expect Price to play a huge role for Penn State next season.

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Most Underrated Player of the Year: Joe Sunder

I know the big fella had a bit of a slump during the middle part of the season, but Sunder is set up to have a stellar career at Penn State. His swing is the most natural, powerful thing I saw on the team and if he can harness his peak potential, there's no telling what Sunder can do in the blue and white.

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Performance of the Year: Max Holt. Five kills, 1.000 hitting %, eight service aces against Juniata, January 28th.

Signature performance from a signature player. In front of only 338 people, Holt put on the most dominant performance I saw all year. Holt could do no wrong that night and he did what great players do against teams they should beat - punish them.

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Clutch Performance of the Year: Jon Sherrick, vs. Saint Francis (Feb. 25th) and Mount Olive (Mar. 28th).

Twice this past year, Penn State lost a middle hitter because of injury and twice Jon Sherrick stepped up to the plate and delivered. 12 kills against Saint Francis and six kills against Mount Olive filling in for Max Holt and Max Lipsitz. Despite being a senior and coming off the bench, Sherrick came up clutch for Penn State.

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Quote of the Year: Max Holt

"It was pretty provocative."- Max Holt on a sign in the stands that said "Sexy, can I?"

Holt was quite the jokester at times for Penn State and he didn't disappoint on Senior Night. There was a mini-student section in attendance and that sign was the cause of quite the discussion after the match. Max Holt is that dude.

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Unintentionally Funny Moment of the Year: Pav's Lineup Error

As I documented earlier in the season, during the final match of the season, Pav messed up the lineup card in the second set. The Lions managed to recover and win the set and Pav was able to look back and laugh about it and was a really good sport about it.

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Well ladies and gentleman, since I can't think of any more awards to hand out, I guess this is a wrap on the season. As I've said before on this blog, it's been a ton of fun working on this and for you guys. I hope you've enjoyed following this as much as I did writing for it. It's been a blast these past five or six months and I hope we gave you guys the type of coverage you wanted. If we didn't, hopefully our successors can do that job for you.

Until August, I'll see ya when I see ya. Peace! Comments

Lacrosse: Men's

Penn State super-goalie Drew Adams gets one more honor to put on his mantelpiece.

Lacrosse: Men's

Drew Adams, Rob Forster and John Stuckey get to play one more game in their collegiate careers.

Wrestling

Freshman All-American Quentin Wright wrestled Chris Perry, brother of former Penn State assistant coach Mark Perry at the FILA Junior Freestyle National Tournament in Las Vegas back in April.

Wright dropped the decision to Perry, 0-3, 4-2, 3-2 in three periods.

The match must have been a little awkward for all parties involved -- the older Perry coached in Wright's corner against his little brother. When I talked to Perry back in February, he told me how good his brother was going to be, and that was proved by this defeat of Wright. Perry worked with Wright all season long, too.

Chris Perry will wrestle for Oklahoma State next season. His uncle, John Smith, is head coach there and is a legendary collegiate and Olympic wrestler. Mark Perry decided against wrestling for his uncle in college when he left Stillwater for Iowa.

The Smith-Perry family is no stranger to competing against each other -- Mark Perry wrestled against Johny Hendricks, who wrestled for John Smith at Okie State, at the 2007 NCAA championships.

Wright finished second at the 84 k.g. (about 185 pounds) weight class. Here's a video of the match, which FloWrestling just posted:

http://www.flowrestling.org/videos/play/179384-chris-perry-dec-quentin-wright-84-kg-fila-junior-freestyle-nationals-finals

For all Penn State wrestling news, check Back Points throughout the summer.

--Hen Comments

Lacrosse: Men's

This Duke-North Carolina rivalry just gets better and better.

Lacrosse: Men's

Only one upset in the Round of 16: previously unbeaten Notre Dame falling to No. 10 Maryland.

Volleyball: Men's

Despite being the hottest team in the country, 26 kills from Murphy Troy was not enough to bring the national championship back to So Cal.

UC Irvine bested USC 3-2 (26-30, 30-23, 26-30, 30-17, 15-12) Saturday night in a thrilling match. The Anteaters were led by Taylor Wilson who had 21 kills on .375 hitting for the match. Wilson was followed by Carson Clark and Jordan Dufault who had 15 and 14 kills a piece.

It really fell apart for USC in the fourth set. The Trojans were just blasted off of the court and they essentially conceded the set late and subbed some players out to avoid injury for the fifth set.

UC Irvine never relinquished the momentum it gained from the fourth set and went on to capture the title.

USC was very impressive again tonight and Murphy Troy has evolved into a total monster that is going to dominate the nation for years to come. USC is a young team and it will be back next year.

-Tom Comments

Lacrosse: Men's

With the 2009 season in the books, we here at Crosse Check want to honor the best the Penn State men's lacrosse team had to offer. So two of our writers decided to dole out the Crosse Check Awards to certain players for their efforts in this 9-5 season.

Paul: Jack Forster

Volleyball: Men's

In the immediate aftermath of the Penn State men's volleyball team's 3-1 (30-27, 26-30, 26-30, 24-30) loss to USC, it would be easy to say the season was a failure for the Nittany Lions.

Penn State held on to major components of last year's national championship, including seniors Max Holt, Jay Stauffer and Ryan Sweitzer, and were among the favorites to win this year.

I won't lie, I expected Penn State to beat USC last night -- I even predicted it in the blog earlier that afternoon.

However, a closer look at the Lions shows that maybe those expectations might have been a bit lofty.

At the beginning of the season, Penn State was working in three players who had no prior in-match experience with the team. Those three players, Edgardo Goas, Will Price and Joe Sunder all played major roles for Penn State this year, but to expect results similar to Luke Murray and last year's co-player of the year Matt Anderson is just asking too much.

That's not to say the trio were an abject failure out on the court. If there's one thing Penn State can take away from this defeat, it is that they saw the birth of Will Price as a dominant force who can just take over matches from anywhere on the court.

In this year's postseason, Price was an absolute monster. His serve was spectacular and his play in all aspects of the game helped keep Penn State alive throughout the night. Price, along with junior Max Lipsitz, will be the rock of this team next season.

As for Goas and Sunder, the reviews are less glowing.

Goas was called out numerous times during the broadcast for less than stellar sets and other miscues that plagued the setter. Yes, Goas did have a bad night, but you need to keep in mind that Goas is only a freshman and in his first year was named second team All-America. Goas is young and talented and will only get better with time.

Sunder also had a rough night. After a strong first set, Sunder seemed to fall out of his groove. Despite registering 14 kills, the second most on the team, he did so on .273 hitting. Penn State needed a little more from Sunder, they just didn't get it Thursday night.

But if there was one person Penn State needed the most, it was Sweitzer. Sweitzer, who ran hot and cold for much of the season, went cold in the semifinal. Sweitzer finished with seven kills on .158 hitting - the lowest of any Lion who recorded a swing.

Sweitzer was also criticized throughout the broadcast for his outside blocking, which, as a unit, helped bring down the Lions.

To be blunt, the blocking was atrocious on Thursday night. Kill after kill went flying through the Penn State defense, especially on the outside. The Lions never sealed off the antenna and USC made them pay each and every time.

There aren't many nights where Penn State would lose a match hitting .408, but when you allow the Trojans to hit .484, victory is almost impossible.

Had Penn State's blocking been better Thursday night, we'd likely be talking about Penn State playing UC Irvine for the national championship. However, the Lions are leaving Provo without the national championship and the blame train starts with the blocking.

If you're a Penn State fan, you're upset and frustrated over last night's defeat and that's understandable. You had higher hopes for this season than a semifinal defeat, but those expectations were maybe a bit too lofty, even from yours truly, who expected to be writing a story Saturday night about Penn State repeating as national champions.

The fact of the matter is, the Lions were an experienced team who happened to rely on three guys who had limited experience within the program to help guide them back to a national championship.

I don't want that to be seen as a knock on coach Mark Pavlik, the decision to use Sunder over Stauffer this season was one that paid major dividends. Also, add the experience gained by Sunder this season to all of the physical tools that he possesses and you're looking at someone who could be an absolute monster in three years, if not sooner.

Despite some questions that surround the Lions for next season, mainly how to replace Holt in the middle and the situation at outside hitter and opposite, Penn State still has many of the tools to make a run and bring back a national championship.

They have Lipsitz and Price, who were first team All-America selections this season. Add another year of experience under the belts of Goas and Sunder, along with the memory of this defeat, and you have many of the ingredients to once again stand atop the volleyball mountain.

But for now, despite the obvious disappointment following such a defeat, let's not go out and label this season a failure, for despite this season ending, the future has already begun for Penn State.

- Tom Comments

Volleyball: Men's

Just some final thoughts from this:

Will Price was the MVP for Penn State tonight. He did everything humanly possible to try and will the Lions to victory but to no avail.

When Penn State looks back on this match, they're going to look at their blocking and wonder what went so horribly wrong. They could not stop Troy and Ciarelli all night long and after that first set they managed one block. That's inexcusable.

Max Holt's career is over. Holt had what is, in all likelihood, the most prolific career in the history of the program and now he's gone. Leaving with Holt will be Sweitzer, Sherrick and Stauffer.

Edgardo. I wrote in the pre that he would have to be huge for Penn State to advance and in his first NCAA match, he played well below the standard we've seen from him at times this season. He's young, he'll be back.

Tomorrow I will post something more than just bullet points looking back on this match. Until then, this is Tom Kinslow signing out. We'll see ya when we see ya. Peace!

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Service error by Price. Worst possible time for that.

USC inches closer, leading 24-20.

Sweitzer fighting to keep his collegiate career alive as he fires a kill home.

Stauffer is in for Lipsitz. They need him badly right now.

Will Price is living and living large tonight. Massive kill by the junior and Penn State is not going quietly.

Blocking yet again. The outside block has failed again for the Lions, Sweitzer the culprit.

Penn State is on life support, down 26-22, USC serving.

Huge trouble. Current with a big kill. They just can't block anything tonight.

Max Holt with a HUGE kill and you have to wonder if that may be the last we see of Max Holt in a Penn State uniform.

28-23 as Sweitzer serves into the net.

Sweitzer goes long and now the defending champs have their backs to the wall.

Sunder saves the season after Del Valle keeps the play alive and it's 29-24 with Sunder back to serve.

Another Penn State block fails and the Lions are eliminated. USC wins 3-1 and will advance to Saturday's final.

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Another block fails for Penn State as Ciarelli and Troy continue to bludgeon the Lions.

McKibbin goes flying through the bench and into the stands for the ball.

Holt's serve is blasted into the net. Not good.

USC leads 21-17 but Edgardo with his second ace of the night to try and draw closer.

Great defense by Penn State, particularly Sunder and Sweitzer, but Murphy Troy will not be denied.

Huge ace by Will Price. Will Price has been the man for Penn State the last two weeks and he's got five aces tonight. Timeout USC leading 22-20.

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Evidently, Pav spent the timeout talking to Edgardo. Edgardo has also been below his normal standards and it's shown tonight.

Great hustle but Sunder to keep it alive but yet again the outside blockers cannot do the job. USC leads 5-4.

Another great dig by Del Valle leads to a Penn State point.

Weak set by Edgardo and a miscommunication with Holt leads to an easy point for USC.

USC leads 9-6 and Murphy Troy is unstoppable.

Yet again, another outside block from Penn State falls short and USC is inching closer to the final.

Watch out, Max Holt's back. Huge kill by the big fella and he's back to serve.

Service error by Holt and Pav has seen happier days.

The Lions cannot seem to tie it up. USC keeps slamming the door and they lead 12-10.

The outside blocking is just atrocious at this point. If I were USC, I'd just go right to the antenna all day long.

And we're tied. Lipsitz has powered Penn State back. However, they cannot take the lead.

Huge mental lapse. Holt just totally destroyed a ball and he thought it was down but it was still in play and got caught out of position. USC leads 15-13.

Now he's angry. Holt destroys a ball. He does not look pleased at all.

USC start to try and pull away and now lead 17-14. Holt was blocked at the net and the ball eluded the sprawling Del Valle.

Penn State has had one block over the last two-plus sets. USC leads 19-15 and Pav calls his final timeout. Penn State is dangerously close to being put on life support.

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I just want to go one record as saying the blocking has been subpar tonight. It's been bad. Murphy Troy has gotten whatever he wanted so far tonight. Four blocks in the first set, one over the last two. Penn State needs to realize it's do or die right now and step it up.

Lipsitz is blocked at the net by USC and the frustration is setting in for the Lions. 3-1 USC.

Murphy Troy with yet another kill and it's 4-1 USC and Pav calls his first timeout. The bleeding has to stop and right now the Lions are hemorrhaging.

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Out of the timeout, USC has three straight points and Edgardo cannot get in sync with this hitters. It is all about Edgardo for Penn State and right now, he needs to step it up. Price looks frustrated.

USC leads 25-19 and Penn State is trying to fight back, something they've only done once all season. Either way, we may be looking at five if Penn State is going to win this thing.

Max Holt: Still and forever that dude. On his little personality profile, he joked that he ate 10-15 hot dogs a morning to train for the Nathans Hot Dog eating contest. Penn State is rallying and it is 26-22 USC.

Will Price hit a ball so hard it hit the low celiing, a ball that would have been destined for the stands. Penn State still recovers and the rally is still going.

Holt has helped bring the Lions back with his serve and it's a two point difference. 5-0 Penn State run that is ended with a Murphy Troy kill. 27-24 Trojans.

Unbelievable hustle by Penn State. Will Price with a great dig to keep the play alive and Sunder finishes the job and it's a one point lead for the Trojans.

The Lions were there for the block but it went wayward and USC inches closer to a set victory.

Murphy Troy hammers it through the block and Penn State is against the wall. 29-26 USC.

Ciarelli with the ace and like that Penn State trails 2-1.

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USC has managed to keep Penn State from putting any type of rally together. The Lions will get a point, and then drop two and the process repeats.

USC leads 17-11 after a kill by Sunder

Sweitzer has found the stroke and delivers another kill. However, USC will not let Penn State gain an inch. Ciarelli with a kill to squash the rally.

USC is hitting .640 in this third set. I'm not shocked, Penn State has been unable to block the Trojan attack tonight.

Joe Sunder just caved in someone's skull with a kill to cut it to 20-16. I couldn't imagine taking a kill from Joe Sunder to the top of the skull, I'd probably still be on the floor.

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That was Penn State's first dropped set since the fifth set against Long Beach State on March 15th. Impressive, most impressive.

USC jumps out to a 3-1 advantage early and some of Penn State's body language just screams frustration.

Penn State can not get in any sort of rhythm right now. They're way out of system, they're frustrated and Pav calls a timeout down 7-3.

The Lions are hitting .000 right now while USC is over .400.

I don't know if it's just me but it just hasn't felt right watching Penn State play tonight. I don't know if its from travel or what but it just hasn't felt like the same Penn State team.

USC leads 13-7 and this could get ugly quick if Penn State doesn't act quick.

USC just keeps pulling away up 15-8 and Penn State calls a timeout. Huge trouble for the Lions here.

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USC holds a 24-21 advantage after a great rally by both teams. Murphy Troy has 10 kills.

USC is hitting above .600 in this second set. Insanity.

Lipsitz trying to keep Penn State alive in this second set as they cut it to 25-22.

What do you know? Another service error, this time from Edgardo. Penn State is going to have to stop with that, especially with how good they're hitting when it's in play.

8-3 run by USC and Mark Pavlik does not look pleased

Timeout USC and it's 27-24 USC. Penn State needs something and quick.

Price with back-to-back aces. Ladies and Gentleman, we are witnessing the birth of a beast.

Stauffer back in trailing 28-26 but USC still pushes it to set point.

Overpass leads to a kill by Current and we're knotted at one a piece. Sloppy set yet again from Penn State and they just never seemed to be in it. Price has been carrying Penn State so far. He needs help, and fast.

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Murphy Troy evidently took part in a pizza eating contest. Someone set up a Holt v. Troy eating contest right now.

Less than stellar set leads to a block for USC. USC leads 16-14.

Someone please get Will Price registered as lethal weapon because that kill could have taken someone's heads off.

However. USC still leads 19-17.

Another service error by Penn State. They need to start taking something off its serves.

Insane dig by McKibbin to keep it alive and USC finishes it off following a rally to lead 22-19 and Penn State calls a timeout.

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Penn State hit a robust .483 in the first set. Nothing wrong with that. Eight service errors in the first set is a bit alarming.

Will Price with five kills, the most of any Penn State player.

89% of the time, if you win the first set in the semifinal, you win the match. Uh oh for USC.

Another intelligent comment from the broadcast team. Penn State hasn't played West Coast teams since January. Or that road trip in March where they played BYU and Long Beach State. Put me in the booth, I'd at least get things right.

Del Valle almost made a dig with his foot but to no avail. The second set is tied at four.

Another service error by the Lions. That's nine for anyone scoring at home.

There's the millionth altitude comment. I GET IT! I GET IT!

Will Price hugs the line with a kill to knot the set at seven.

Penn State takes a 9-8 lead after a fourth contact by USC.

Max Lipsitz is throwing the hammer down, another kill by Lipsitz, all of them have been missiles.

Price with his second ace. You can't stop Will Price, you can only hope to contain him.

Easiest kill of Joe Sunder's life. Penn State was way out of system after a great dig by Dennis. Sunder lobs it over the net and USC decided to watch it land between them. To quote Jerry Seinfeld, "That's a shame."

USC takes a lead on a kill on an overpass by Del Valle. The commentators must not see much of Dennis because they don't understand that he runs all over the court.

Timeout Penn State as USC takes the lead.

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Edgardo with an ace and he's got that huge grin on his face, knowing that it just shouldn't be at this stage of the season against this type of opponent.

Penn State leads 27-25 and USC is trying to crawl back in it and Pav calls a timeout to try and settle his team down.

USC's coach looks like New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. Just saying.....

Penn State holds a tenuous 28-27 lead after a Sunder hitting error. However, Will Price gives USC the no-no with a nice kill to push it to set point.

Jay Stauffer comes in and the lady doubts Pav's decision making. Do your homework.

HUGE block by dangerous man Max Holt to end it. Yeah that was a terrible decision to put Jay in to serve....oh wait.

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Hey did you guys hear that they're playing at altitude? If not, there's a feature on what serving at altitude does.

Price's serve is still red hot from last week and USC fires wide and now Penn State is on a 6-2 run to lead 21-18.

HUGE swing from Current and that ball had to go into the fifth row.

Max Holt will not be outdone. Holt with a big kill.

I must say, I feel like USC is doing a good job of keeping Del Valle out of the match. I almost forgot he was out there.

Penn State's newbie's are doing a good job so far, Sunder with a big kill.

More service errors, USC this time with the error. I wonder what the commentary team believes is the cause of all this......

Look out below, cause Max Lipsitz is giving the people what they want. Huge kill and Penn State is up 25-22.

Timeout USC down 26-22.

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I like how the screen says "Game 1", too bad they're called sets now. Bravo ESPN. Bra-vo.

Another service error from Penn State. Got to fix that, and quick.

Please, good sir on the TV, shut up about the altitude. It's not like they're playing on the moon.

Timeout on the court and Penn State still trails 16-13.

Matt Anderson is in attendance and evidently has quite the posse with him.

Wow, was that video footage of Max Holt yelling? I didn't know he had emotion. I honestly thought he was the Terminator.

There's Will Price, who has swagger like no one else.

There's Sunder who comes flying in from the back row to tie it up before another service error, the Lions' sixth.

There goes Del Valle almost running out to the concession stand for a ball but to no avail. USC leads 17-16.

Will Price has come to play tonight. Service ace from the man who evidently doesn't own an ipod. I thought that was like a college necessity.

Insane dig by USC that seemed to confuse Penn State who thought it hit the floor, but it only delays the inevitable. Price with another kill that bruised a few ribs on USC's side. Timeout on the floor and now Penn State leads.

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We're underway and we're getting a good look at bad, bad man Max Holt. He's going to need to be on with his serve tonight.

Starting Lineups

USC

Murphy Troy

Tony Ciarelli

Tri Bourne

Austin Zahn

Hunter Current

Riley McKibbin

Luke Morris

Penn State

These intros are gonna be epic.....

Ryan Sweitzer

Will Price (Totally loves the camera)

Joe Sunder

Max Lipsitz

Max Holt (Also loves the camera, and wants to be in the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest)

Edgardo Goas

Dennis Del Valle

Max Holt's major is sports journalism, smart man.

I must say it's not nearly as much fun to watch this on TV as opposed to the press box.

A hitting error and a service error back-to-back. Gotta limit that.

Lipsitz's motto "Give the people what they want." Epic.

So I've heard about the sea level like eight times already. They're in the mountains, the air's thin, I get it.

USC holds a narrow 6-4 advantage against Penn State so far.

Joe Sunder would most like to meet Einstein, might take awhile to arrange that meeting.

Penn State keeps feeding the beast, Holt slams home a kill but Penn State still trails 8-6.

Lipsitz with a huge block and a flex. He's giving the people what they want.

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Hey all you Penn State men's volleyball fans, this is Tom Kinslow coming to you live from Rec....scratch that, my family room where I'm getting ready to watch your Nittany Lions take on the Trojans of USC in the NCAA Semifinal.

As we've said earlier, Penn State and USC clashed in the first match of the season at the Outrigger Invitational. Penn State won 3-2 but these are two different squads and it'll be interesting to see what level of familiarity there is with each other.

The match gets under way in just about a half hour so check back then when I'll be here to guide you through the action. Comments

Volleyball: Men's

Mike's Take

It's been a long, interesting season but we've arrived at the match that has been expected for Penn State, given the weakness of the EIVA.

One thing that wasn't expected is Penn State's opponent tonight. All season it seemed as if Irvine, Pepperdine and Northridge had the best teams in the MPSF. But USC proved otherwise, coming from the fifth seed in the MPSF tournament to win and claim a spot in the final four.

The Penn State- USC matchup opened the season in Hawaii, and it will end the season for one of those teams tonight.

Penn State won that opening match in five sets, but both teams have improved significantly since then. USC has reworked most of its starting lineup and is just on a tear right now.

As for Penn State, we've seen and chronicled the Nittany Lions steady improvement throughout the season. From new additions to the offense to errors to blocking, the Lions have bettered themselves in each facet and are playing their best volleyball at the right time of the season.

Both teams thrive off of a strong service game, but the Trojans don't have Dennis Del Valle receiving those serves. The sophomore libero should play a huge role in Penn State's success in Provo.

What to Look For: Some attacks and serves flying long early as the teams deal with nerves and the thin mountain air.

Player of the Match: Ryan Sweitzer. Max Holt and Max Lipsitz in the middle are going to bring the solid production they do every match but Penn State will need someone to step up on the outside. Why not Sweitzer, who has played well on the road this season. He also has some things to prove after being left off the All-EIVA First Team and the All-American team.

Score: Penn State 3-1 (30-28, 32-34, 30-27, 30-26) It's hard to see either of these teams losing at this point, but the Lions have more experience at this level than the young Trojans.

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Tom's Take

Well this isn't really a match that needs much hype. Penn State, the defending national champions against USC, a team that pulled upset after upset to get into the tournament will clash tonight. The winner goes on to Saturday's final and the loser goes home. Does it get any better? I think not.

I think there are a couple of X-Factors for Penn State. First off, Edgardo Goas. It starts and ends for Penn State with Edgardo. If Edgardo can maintain his composure being on the biggest stage in collegiate volleyball and deliver crisp sets to his hitters, it should go smoothly for Penn State.

I also think there's an intangible aspect to Penn State everyone ignores. The seniors. Max Holt, Jon Sherrick, Jay Stauffer and Ryan Sweitzer do not want to leave with their heads hung walking off the court while someone else celebrates. Those four will do it whatever it takes to bring another title back to Penn State and will play a huge factor in its success this week.

What To Look For: How Edgardo Goas, Will Price and Joe Sunder react to their first NCAA Tournament match.

Player of the Match: Max Holt. If I'm going to pick someone who could take over a big time match, it's Max Holt. He's got the power, he's got the serve and he'll need to be big tonight.

Score: Penn State 3-1 (30-27, 28-30, 30-26, 30-25) Comments

Basketball: Men's

Danny Morrissey and Jamelle Cornley won't be back at the BJC next season, but they can take comfort in the fact that yet another Ohioan will be donning the Blue and White.

That's because Middletown High School's Bill Edwards announced this morning that he'll be coming to Happy Valley in the fall, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Edwards averaged 17 points and nine rebounds per game this season for Middletown.

Scout.com rates him as a two-star prospect who can play either the two or three spot.

The 6-foot-5, 225-pounder chose Penn State over Miami-OH and Central Florida, and will be one of five freshmen on the Nits' roster for the 2009-10 season. (That is, if you include Billy Oliver, who redshirted this past season).

I have got to say, this move perplexes me a little bit, as it will leave the Lions very thin up front.

They went after 6-foot-9 Philly product Markus Kennedy, but he committed to hometown Villanova last week.

The Lions are now out of scholarships to dish out for the next two seasons, unless a player is planning a transfer that nobody knows about.

This signing also minimizes the potential influence Taran Buie would have had on other recruits, particularly his AAU Albany City Rocks teammate, the 6-foot-8 Will Regan.

The Lions have already signed a pair of perimeter players in Tim Frazier and Jermaine Marshall, and the combo guard Buie will be on his way a year later.

The Lions struggled enough down low with Jamelle Cornley as their only real threat for much of the season (well, at least regular season).

But now with him gone, that will leave just the two Andrews, Jones and Ott, to man the paint for the next two seasons.

Jeff Brooks and incoming recruit Sasa Borovnjak are each 6-foot-8, but they both display too much finesse to warrant the labels of "Big Men."

Perhaps the wiry, 6-foot-8, 210-pound Oliver can make a splash down low, but that remains to be seen on this level.

This guard-oriented team will have to outpace the rest of its Big Ten brethren, which, come to think of it, wouldn't be such a bad thing.

-Fortuna Comments

Lacrosse: Men's

The ECAC all-conference teams were announced today, with a twist from years past.

Lacrosse: Men's

Three Nittany Lions received ECAC player-of-the-week honors for the team's season-ending win over Georgetown.

Lacrosse: Men's

On Monday we ran down the best conference teams in every statistical category. Today we check out the winners of individual accolades in the ECAC.

Volleyball: Men's

Well yet another round of awards has come through and yet again, Penn State finds itself all over it.

Five Nittany Lions (Holt, Lipsitz, Price, Del Valle and Goas) were all named to the rosters. Those five selections were the most of any school.

Below are the rosters....

AVCA Division I-II Men's First-Team All-America

Ryan Ammerman, UC Irvine, S, Sr.

Dean Bittner, Long Beach State, RS/Opp, Jr.

Paul Carroll, Pepperdine, RS/Opp, Jr.

Max Holt, Penn State, MH, Sr.

Max Lipsitz, Penn State, MH, Jr.

Will Price, Penn State, OH, Jr.

Erik Shoji, Stanford, DS/Lib, Fr.

Kawika Shoji, Stanford, S, Jr.

Murphy Troy, USC, OH, So.

Eric Vance, Cal State Northridge, OH, Sr.

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AVCA Division I-II Men's Second-Team All-America

Tony Ciarelli, USC, OH, Fr.

Carson Clark, UC Irvine, Rs/Opp, R-Fr.

Dennis Del Valle, Penn State, DS/Lib, So.

Jordan DuFault, UC Irvine, OH, So.

Edgardo Goas, Penn State, S, R-Fr.

Drew Pickering, Lewis, OH, Sr.

Jacek Ratajczak, Cal State Northridge, MB, Jr.

Jordan Varee, Saint Francis, RS/Opp, Jr.

Dustin Watten, Long Beach State, DS/Lib, Sr.

Kevin Wynne, UC Irvine, MB, So.

AVCA Division I-II Men's National Player of the Year: Announced at NCAA Championship Banquet on May 6

AVCA Division I-II Men's Newcomer of the Year: Erik Shoji, Stanford University, Fr.

-Tom Comments

Lacrosse: Men's

Well, that's that for this season, Penn State's last as a member of the ECAC.

Lacrosse: Men's

OK, it's understandable that, with a field of only 16 teams from a nation to choose from, there will be some snubs in the NCAA men's lacrosse tournament. And because the ACC is so loaded, that means there will have to be even more at-large teams left out of the picture.

Wrestling

Iowa State hired another Olympian to replace Penn State's Cael Sanderson.

Kevin Jackson was named the next head coach of the Cyclones on Thursday.

According to the article by the Iowa State Daily, these were the other candidates Iowa State was considering:

-Ohio State assistant and former ISU NCAA Champion Joe Heskett

-Tennessee-Chatanooga coach and ISU alumnus Chris Bono

-Current U.S. National Team coach Zeke Jones

-Nebraska coach Mark Manning

-Iowa assistant Terry Brands

Now the big question: Does Jake Varner like Jackson? Will he elect to come along with Sanderson to Penn State? That would be huge for Penn State, who could have Varner start at 197, Clay Steadman could move to 184, and Quentin Wright could stay at 174.

Another question of interest is what David Erwin will do next season. He got injured at the beginning of the year, leading Wright to start at 174. Wright was supposed to redshirt this season, so there might be a possibility he could redshirt this season (this is me thinking outloud, haven't heard this from anybody).

Erwin was a prized recruit coming in, but the fact is that he's Troy Sunderland's boy. Will Sanderson find the same talent in him that Sunderland did? It will be interesting to see how the roster comes about with the incoming transfers, but here would be my starting lineup based on returning Penn Staters:

125-pound weight class: Brad Pataky

133 pounds: Mike Eagan or Tyler Saltsman

141 pounds: Frank Molinaro (returning All-American)

149 pounds: Colby Pisani or Adam Lynch

157 pounds: Tim Darling

165 pounds: Dan Vallimont

174 pounds: David Erwin

184 pounds: Quentin Wright (Wright may boost his weight training big time, meaning more pounds to his lanky frame)

197 pounds: Clay Steadman

285 pounds: Cameron Wade

--Hen & Captain Ging Comments

Volleyball: Men's

The fourth final four team and the seedings for each team were announced Sunday.

As Tom's fantastic reporting (one post down) predicted, UC Irvine earned the at-large bid. The Anteaters are also the No. 1 seed and will take on MIVA champion Ohio State in the first round.

Penn State earned the second seed and will face red-hot USC in the semifinals.

Penn State- USC will be broadcast on ESPN2, ESPNU, and ESPN360 at 9 p.m. ET Thursday, May 7. The game can also be heard on gopsusports.com with everyone's favorite former Nittany Lion assistant coach Craig Dyer providing color commentary for the game.

Irvine and Ohio State will play at 11 p.m ET Thursday on ESPNU.

The national championship match is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET Saturday, May 9 on ESPN2.

The Trojans, who surprised many by winning the MPSF tournament, present a tough challenge for the Lions, but Penn State coach Mark Pavlik expects a challenge at this point of the season.

"The field is gonna be as strong as it was last year," Pavlik said after Saturday's EIVA championship match. "We're gonna face two good teams and we've gotta play well for two matches." Comments

Lacrosse: Men's

It's hard to pick a game bigger than Penn State's upset over Georgetown. In a wild double-overtime win in Washington, senior Rob Forster nailed the game-winner.

Volleyball: Men's

Well USC did it. The Trojans beat Pepperdine 3-2 to capture the MPSF Championship. It took overtime in the fifth set to decide it. Let me just say that it's crazy that Paul Carroll took 78 swings in one match while Murphy Troy took 50 for the Trojans. I'm sure ice was in high demand after that one.

Now this upset messes everything up and creates a nightmare scenario for Pepperdine and UC Irvine. Both teams expected to get in, one as the MPSF Champion and the At-Large. Now that USC has turned the trick, two teams, one spot and in a couple of days we'll find out who gets in.

Now there are criteria for this type of situation outlined in the NCAA Handbook. They are as follows.

1. Overall Record

2. Head-to-head results

3.Home and Away results

4. Record against common opponents

5. Results against teams already qualified and under consideration

6. Eligibility and availability of student-athletes.

Now, being the intrepid reporter that I am, I'm going to outline how Pepperdine and Irvine stack up and make my own choice for who gets to head to Provo next week.

1. Overall Record

- Pepperdine: 22-5 (81.5 winning %)

- UC Irvine: 25-5 (83.3 winning %)

-Edge: UC Irvine

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2. Head-to-Head Results

Split both matchups

- Pepperdine won 3-1 in first matchup

- Irvine won 3-0 in final matchup

-Push (Possible edge to Irvine, winning set battle 4-3)

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3. Home and Away Results

- Pepperdine: 12-2 (85.7 winning %) at home. 10-3 (76.9 winning %) on the road

- UC Irvine: 13-2 (86.6 winning %) at home. 12-3 (80 winning %) on the road.

-Edge: UC Irvine

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4. Record Against Common Opponents

- Pepperdine: 17-3 (85% winning %)

- UC Irvine 22-3 (88 % winning %)

Edge: UC Irvine

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5. Record against teams already qualified and under consideration.

Okay I assume the only two teams being looked at are Pepperdine and Irvine. So that leaves a trio of Penn State, Ohio State and USC. I'm also throwing in their records against each other, since they are under consideration themselves.

- Pepperdine: 3-1

- UC Irvine: 3-2

Edge: Pepperdine

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6. Eligibility and availability of student-athletes

I'm not aware of any major injuries, although who knows how sore Carroll's shoulder is after that amount of swings but I'm going to call this a push based on pretty much a lack of knowlege.

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Final Verdict

As you can see, Irvine holds a 3-1-2 advantage in the categories for selection and could be as high as 4-1-1 if you move the head-to-head over to Irvine for winning more sets. So if I were on the NCAA Committee, I would be sending Irvine to Provo along with Penn State, Ohio State and USC.

-Tom Comments

Volleyball: Men's

The awards ceremony is underway and they are honoring one of the refs who is retiring. He was given a game ball signed by both squads.

The school is now honoring SID Jen Armson-Dyer for her service, who is leaving to join her husband, former assistant Craig Dyer in Marquette. Jen is given roses and a hug from Pav along with a standing ovation. She's earned it, especially for dealing with Mike and I.

Now the Awards are underway as Juniata gets a second place trophy.And a huge ovation from the sea of yellow.

Here comes the Lions' captains, Lipsitz, Stauffer and Sherrick to accept the trophy.

All Championship Team

Jordan Varee- Saint Francis

Evan Halteman- Juniata

Matt Werle- Juniata

Joe Sunder- Penn State

Max Holt- Penn State

Dennis Del Valle- Penn State

Most Outstanding Player: Will Price- Penn State

That was my exact ballot. Be impressed.

Well this is gonna wrap up our coverage from Rec Hall. I'd like to thank everyone once again for reading. It's been a blast doing this for you and working in my humor. I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as we did writing for it.

Once again, thank you to the readers (especially my biggest fan) and we'll see you after Finals.

We'll see you when we see you. Peace!

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Ryan Sweitzer with a service ace, the call looked to be a little questionable but the Lions will take it.

NCAA birth clinching point on the way after a hitting error by the Eagles.

Sweitzer serves, returned and blocked and the Penn State Nittany Lions are the 2009 EIVA Champions. There's no celebration, just handshakes.

Unreal performances but a couple of Lions tonight, particularly Del Valle and Price.

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What part of don't heckle Max Holt don't these people understand. Holt fires a serve that obliterates a Juniata player before Penn State finished it off with a quick kill. Penn State leads 21-16.

More Del Valle greatness. Another dig, his 13th leads to a Lipsitz kill, his 11th and Penn State is eight points away from Provo.

Penn State is inching closer after a hitting error by Juniata, the story of the match for the Eagles as far as I'm concerned.

Joe Sunder can feel it too. Another kill by the big fella, his tenth puts the Lions closer.

I suppose he was due. Price with a service error. Penn State still leads 24-19.

Max Holt with his sixth kill of the night. I must say, after the tremendous night he had on Thursday, he's quietly been biding his time around the court.

Timeout Juniata after another Sunder kill, his 11th. Three points away from Provo.

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Our first We Are! Penn State! chant starts as the sea of yellow tries to respond with a Juniata chant. Both chants are bleeding into each other. It's postseason volleyball fever. It's easier to catch than Swine Flu.

Penn State continues to roll up 15-11.

Price keeps firing missiles.

Dennis Del Valle is the most amazing athlete in the history of civilization. He just made a sprawling dig over his head and over the net that sent the entire crowd into a frenzy. Juniata however did recover from this to get the point. If I could clone one person and harvest his talent, it would be Dennis Del Valle. Half man, half amazing.

Penn State still leads up 17-13.

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Joe Sunder getting in on the service ace party to put Penn State up 8-7.

Del Valle with another insane play to preserve a rally but Sweitzer couldn't finish the job on a less than stellar set from the back row.

Dennis then proceeds to go flying into the bench area on the next play and comes up checking his elbow. If everyone had the competitive fire of Dennis, sports would be a much more exciting thing.

Max Lipsitz decided he's had enough of this and fires home his ninth kill to tie Sweitzer for the most of any Lion and knots it up at 10.

However, Juniata will not go away. Juniata now leads 11-10 and refuse to go quietly into the cool Happy Valley night.

Price with another amazing serve that knocked a Juniata player to the ground. Price then decides to fire an absolute missile into the back row, ricocheting off of a Juniata shoulder and sending the player stumbling back. Don't mess with Will Price.

Sweitzer with a kill and Penn State now leads 13-11.

Price with another amazing serve that leads to a Sunder kill and the crowd can taste that NCAA birth as Juniata calls a timeout down 14-11.

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In the MiVA championship, Ohio State and Ball State are tied at 21 in the second set.

Some stats through the second set....

Penn State is hitting .424, Juniata is hitting .197.

Max Lipsitz is hitting .778 on 9 swings.

Penn State hit an absurd .577 in the second set.

Del Valle: 11 digs. Juniata 14 digs.

Juniata leads 5-4 in the third set. Bless their hearts for trying so hard.

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Price's serve has been so money this week. He's developed into quite a monster this year and he's still got a year more of growing to do.

Great dig by Edgardo leads to a Price kill, his third of the night. Penn State leads 26-17.

Oh look, it's a bird, it's a plane, it's Max Lipsitz. Lipsitz delivers again with his seventh kill of the night.

Juniata tries to delay the inevitable as Penn State leads 28-19.

There's Max Holt, who just caved in someone's sternum with a kill that pushes it to set point.

There's Joe Sunder who's had a heck of a week to finish the job with his seventh kill of the night. 30 points away from Provo.

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The Lions are starting to pull away from Juniata and lead 18-12 following a block by Holt and Goas.

Juniata is still continuing to fight but they just don't have guys who can hang with the raw power of Penn State. 18-14 off an Eagles' service ace.

Max Holt is a dangerous, dangerous and terrifying man. A vicious kill silences the Juniata faithful. I have never seen a player as big and as physical in Max Holt in my entire life. He's scary good.

Penn State now leads 20-15 off an illegal contact by Juniata.

The Lions continue to pull away, leading 24-17 and Juniata calls a timeout.

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Werle has been so good tonight. His sets are just on a dime every time. However, they do hang up there for awhile.

Edgardo will not let this challenge to his setter prowess go unchecked. A flip by Goas puts the Lions up one briefly before a service error by Sunder ties it up at seven.

The crowd was chanting at Holt how long it took to serve. Holt just pulls up, fires and lobs an ace right in and just shrugs his shoulders. You do not heckle Max Holt and get away with it.

Penn State leads 10-8 as Del Valle yells out instructions.

Terrible call by the official. Price fired a kill way out of bounds which was called in by the side judge. Juniata was less than pleased.

Dennis Del Valle is half man, half amazing, a pancake dig preserves a rally that ends with a Joe Sunder kill and the Penn State faithful let the Lions know their approval. Penn State leads 13-9.

Will Price is that dude. Another service ace by Price.

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In the MIVA Championship, Ohio State bested Ball State in the first set.

Some first set stats.....

Penn State hit .303, Juniata .194.

Six attack errors and five service errors for Juniata.

Penn State was also sloppy with six attack errors and five service errors.

Sweitzer has the most kills with seven.

Dennis Del Valle- 8 digs, Juniata 10.

Max Lipsitz is angry. Huge kill, his fifth of the match.

Will Price with another service ace. He's intense.

The match is tied at four. Juniata came to play, but do they have the horses to run with the Lions? I doubt it, but we'll see.

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More sloppiness from Juniata. If the Eagles lose this match, it all started with the missed opportunities in this set.

Werle has been amazing in this tournament and is making great sets to his outsides. However, Penn State will have none of this. 28-23 and Jay Stauffer makes an appearance for Lipsitz.

Sweitzer with a huge kill to push it to set point, 29-24. The crowd rises to its feet and has the wind momentarily sucked out of it with a service error.

Max Holt finishes the set off with a kill, his second and Penn State is two sets away from packing its bags and heading to Provo.

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Juniata still hanging around. The sea of yellow is chanting "Jun-i-ata" but Joe Sunder would like to politely tell them to be quiet. By politely I mean he just fired a volleyball through the defense and off the court, quieting the student section.

Edgardo with the lazy flip to the court. Love that move.

What a block by Evan Halteman on Max Holt. Most men would be on the way to the ER right now, but not Halteman. 21-20 Penn State.

Juniata has been great on the defensive end. They've been getting their hands on the kills and keeping the play alive and have given them more of a run than anyone expected.

Some lovely fan has an airhorn and has now been officially reprimanded by the PA announcer. Sucks to be that guy.

Sweitzer with a kill, his sixth, a match high so far and the Lions lead 25-21 as Juniata calls a timeout and the Blue Band starts to play.

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If only Juniata could avoid the errors, maybe they would be leading, but they aren't, so they're not. Penn State leads 17-14.

Max Lipsitz with a thunderous kill that drew a few ooh's from the crowd.

God bless Dennis Del Valle, he tried so hard to make a play to get it over the net flipping it over his head.

Edgardo is on a roll. I could have swore he was feeding Lipsitz through the middle, flips back to Sweitzer who delivers his fifth kill of the match. 19-15 Lions.

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Get out of Will Price's way or get knocked out of the way. Another ace from the junior who puts a little swagger on it with a head nod.

Juniata is still hanging around though. 11-8 Lions with Lipsitz back to serve.

Penn State has stepped up the defensive intensity but a blocking error leads to another Eagles point. 12-10 Penn State. Juniata is desperately trying to avoid the fate of George Mason, i.e. getting pounded into the hardwood without mercy.

Juniata continues to scrap, down 13-12. Werle has been making crisp sets to his middles, who he said could run with Max and Max on Thursday night.

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Del Valle with a hustle play to preserve the play and the Lions have come out of the timeout strong with two straight points.

I must say, Juniata has been making plays early on, however, errors have told the tale early on. A couple of hitting errors, a service error and a couple blocking errors. However, Juniata hasn't been much better and Penn State has tied it at six on a Will Price ace.

Back to back aces from Price. Will Price is fired up and so is the crowd.

Price with another boneshattering serve that leads to an overpass and a stuff block. Penn State leads 8-6.

AMAZING play by Dennis Del Valle to preserve the play and the Lions lead 9-6 and a timeout from Juniata. Dennis Del Valle is that dude.

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We've got a packed house here tonight at the Rec Hall who is very vocal. Juniata even has a nice little cheering section going on.

Max Holt with a hitting error and a service error to start. I guess what goes up must go down.

Amazing dig by Juniata, but it looked like it hit the floor, Lipsitz looked a little confused.

Juniata is coming out on fire. 5-1 Eagles early on. Timeout Penn State. The bleeding has to stop and Juniata's fans are on their feet. A sea of yellow behind the Eagles' bench has made it's presence known early.

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Hey all you Penn State men's volleyball fans, this is Tom Kinslow, coming to you for the last time from Rec Hall as your NIttany Lions are set to take on Juniata in the EIVA Championship.

This is the third meeting between the two squads, with Penn State sweeping the previous two matches.

If the Lions win, they clinch a berth in the NCAA Tournament next week in Provo, Utah.

Since I won't have time after the match, I'd like to just give out a few thank yous. I'd like to thank now-former-sports editor Kevin Zitzman for being gracious enough to allow this pet project of ours. I'd like to thank web guru Ian Brown for being so patient and putting this together, including the sweet banner (I'm sure Max Holt would thank you too).

Also a big thank you to the readers out there. We've tried to give you the best coverage we could all year and come up with new features to keep you coming back. We hope it worked. We'll still be on here after Finals and for a little bit after the season still working hard to keep you guys informed on the world of collegiate men's volleyball.

Now to the match....

Starting Lineups

Juniata

Chris Vrooman

Matt Werle

Evan Halteman

Dan Powers

Anthony Damiano

Zach Wanner

Josh Mummert

Penn State

Edgardo Goas

Max Lipsitz

Max Holt

Ryan Sweitzer

Will Price

Dennis Del Valle

Joe Sunder Comments

Volleyball: Men's

Things got very interesting in the volleyball world Thursday night.

While everything went as planned at Rec Hall with top seeds Penn State and Juniata advancing, two upsets went down in the MPSF and MIVA.

Down 2-0 against Lewis, Ball State won the last three sets to advance to the MIVA championship match. The Cardinals will take on top seed Ohio State who swept Loyola-Chicago.

But the biggest surprise of the night came from California. The No. 1 team in the MPSF and the country UC Irvine was swept by USC. The Trojans entered the tournament as the fifth seed and will now take on Pepperdine in the MPSF championship.

Seems like an odd match and a tough break for Irvine. The Anteaters outhit and outblocked the Trojans.

More importantly, Irvine's loss clouds the final four picture. As the regular season MPSF champs, Irvine was thought to be a lock for at least the at-large bid to the tournament. But now if USC wins the MPSF, things could get tricky.

Would the committee put Irvine or Pepperdine in? The teams split their two meetings this year. Irvine has the regular season title on its resume but the sweep in the playoffs does not look good. Pepperdine could argue it made it farther in the MPSF tournament.

Of course, should Pepperdine beat USC, there will be no debate as Irvine will get the at-large bid and most likely the two seed in the tourney.

But as we've seen so far, anything can happen. Bring on Saturday!

-Mike Comments