Loyola has all but one vote for #1 in this week's AVCA poll, but the near concensus #1 team will have a big challenge on Friday with the trip to Penn State. Since Loyola began the men's volleyball program in 1996, the Ramblers are 9-10 all time against Penn State, but 0-8 in State College. In fact, Loyola has only managed to win 1 set ever out of the 25 they've played there.
Meanwhile, Penn State began the season ranked #3 in the preseason poll, but lost both matches in Hawaii to open the season and lost at Ball State and IPFW over the weekend. But the Nittany Lions, highly regarded at the beginning of the season and powered by senior All American Aaron Russell, are still clinging to the lowest rung of the rankings at #15 despite being 0-4. They've been to the NCAA tournament 16 years in a row, they've won 22 straight matches at home going back to 2013, and they're 41-1 at home over the past three seasons.
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