The four-time defending EIVA champions aren’t having to go anywhere for a marquee non-conference match.
Penn State as part of unveiling its 2027 schedule announced it will have a home match against the defending Big West champions Long Beach State on Jan. 23.
This will be the third time during the rally scoring era that Penn State will have a home match against Long Beach State. The Beach last traveled to Penn State in 2023 and beat the Nittany Lions to start their current three-match winning streak in the non-conference series.
Long Beach State last season was seventh in the nation with a .342 attack percentage last season en route to reaching the NCAA Tournament semifinals. Middle attacker Jackson Cryst as a freshman also hit .517 and eighth in the nation averaging 1.09 blocks per game.
Penn State after winning the 2026 EIVA championship nearly upset UC Irvine in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament before losing five games. Among the starters returning for the Nittany Lions includes outside attacker Sean Harvey who was named the EIVA Player of the Year and was in the nation’s top 25 averaging 3.59 kills per game.
Long Beach State leads the all-time series 22-8, including a home sweep against Penn State last season.
Along with facing Long Beach State, Penn State will have three more home non-conference matches against teams that reached the NCAA Tournament last season.
Penn State in the opening week of the season will play the defending MIVA champions Ball State. It also will play host to UCLA and USC as part of the annual Big Ten challenge series.
2027 Penn State schedule
Jan. 6 vs. Roberts Wesleyan
Jan. 8 vs. Ball State
Jan. 15 at Lindenwood
Jan. 16 at Lindenwood
Jan. 21 vs. Fort Valley State
Jan. 23 vs. Long Beach State
Jan. 29 vs. UCLA
Jan. 30 vs. USC
Feb. 6 at Ohio State
Feb. 12 at George Mason
Feb. 13 at George Mason
Feb. 19 vs. Princeton
Feb. 20 vs. Princeton
Feb. 26 at Harvard
Feb. 27 at Harvard
March 6 at Loyola
March 7 at Lewis
March 11-13 at Outrigger Invitational
March 20 vs. Daemen
March 21 vs. North Greenville
April 9 at NJIT
April 10 at NJIT
April 16 vs. Charleston
April 17 vs. Charleston
April 23 vs. Sacred Heart
April 24 vs. Sacred Heart