Off the Block

Tag: Mark Pavlik

  • UCLA, Lewis, Springfield in, Penn State out for 2012 Outrigger Invitational

    One of the biggest men’s volleyball non-conference tournaments will have a different look from previous seasons in 2012.

    Hawai’i coach Charlie Wade said Thursday that UCLA, Lewis and Springfield College will play in the 2012 Outrigger Invitational in January. It is the first time in the 17-year history of the Hawai’i home tournament that Springfield College will play in it and the first time for Lewis since 2005.

    “There is no shortage of teams that want to come out here and play in Hawaii,” Wade said. “It’s going to be fun to play them, and it’s going to be fun for our fans to see some nice teams come out that they don’t normally get to see.”
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  • EIVA to reduce conference tournament to 4 teams starting next season

    The EIVA Tournament will be more difficult for teams to make starting in 2012.

    The EIVA voted at its annual league meeting to reduce its conference tournament from seven to four teams next season.

    “This puts an emphasis on the regular season,” Penn State coach Mark Pavlik said. “You got to be at your best through the EIVA regular season schedule to be in the top four and hopefully that creates competition among the eight teams.”
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  • Nittany Lions coach Pavlik says hosting NCAA Tournament success for Penn State

    Penn State did not win the national championship, but off the court the men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament was a success.

    Nittany Lions coach Mark Pavlik said Monday that he was extremely happy with the job the Penn State athletics department did at hosting the four-team NCAA Tournament last week.

    “Everything they could do to positively impact the event they did, and everything they did it was to give the student athletes the best possible experience,” he said. “I really believed the guys walked out of the gym saying this is what the national championship should be. I really tip my hats off to their efforts, working with USA Volleyball and making it a celebration of men’s and boy’s volleyball.”
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  • Postmatch news conference: Penn State vs. Ohio State

    For the first time in 11 years, the Buckeyes are back in the national championship match.

    The No. 3 seed Ohio State upset the No. 2 seed Penn State in four games in the NCAA Tournament semifinals on Thursday in University Park, Pa., to advance to the title match on Saturday.

    The Buckeyes had four players with at least 10 kills as it out-hit the Nittany Lions .292 to .140. Ohio State outside attacker John Klanac finished the match a with a team-high 16 kills, while outside attacker Shawn Sangrey had 15 kills in the victory.
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  • Q&A with Penn State at the men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament

    Penn State coach Mark Pavlik along with outside attacker Joe Sunder, setter Edgardo Goas and libero Dennis Del Valle conducted a news conference Wednesday heading into their NCAA Tournament match.

    The No. 2 seed Penn State will play the No. 3 seed Ohio State in the NCAA Tournament semifinals at 9 p.m. Thursday. The Final Four is this year is also being held on the Nittany Lions’ home year.

    View an abridged version of the news conference below. (more…)

  • Penn State coach Pavlik says NCAA Tournament expansion would be good thing

    NCAA Tournament expansion would happen if it was up to one national award winning coach.

    Penn State coach Mark Pavlik said earlier this week that he would like for the men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament to expand from four to eight teams in the upcoming seasons.

    “I think that we have enough good teams that it wouldn’t harm the integrity of the NCAA championship,” Pavlik said at his weekly news conference Monday. “I think overall you’d see some surprises in an eight-team tournament.”
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  • Penn State, USA Volleyball partner up for NCAA Tournament

    Nittany Lions coach Mark Pavlik does not just want this year’s Final Four at Penn State to be two-day event, he wants it to week-long celebration of men’s volleyball.

    Pavlik and U.S. men’s national volleyball coach Alan Knipe announced Wednesday that the teams will have a partnership for the men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament in May to provide events beyond the collegiate matches.
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  • Penn State, USA Volleyball news conference

    Penn State coach Mark Pavlik and U.S. men’s national volleyball coach Alan Knipe held a joint news conference Wednesday to announce their new partnership for the men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament.

    The NCAA Tournament will be May 5-7 at Penn State. Check out the transcript of the news conference with reporters for The Daily Collegian and Off the Block asking questions.
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  • The top 5 men’s volleyball stories of the week

    It’s your top five men’s volleyball story list, but with a twist.

    Every Sunday during the men’s volleyball season I will post the top five best men’s volleyball stories of the week from around the nation. The list, though, is based more on how well the reporter wrote and covered the story rather than just what happened on the court.
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  • Q&A with Penn State coach Mark Pavlik

    For the first time in five years, the No. 7 Penn State men’s volleyball team will play a regular season home match against a team from the MPSF.

    The Nittany Lions will play No. 8 UC Irvine at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Cal State Northridge at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. In addition, No. 9 Ohio State will travel to University Park, Pa., this weekend to play these two West Coast teams at Rec Hall.

    Penn State (6-1, 2-0 EIVA) traditionally travels to the West Coast twice per season to play top ranked MPSF schools. However, UC Irvine and Cal State Northridge this weekend will become the first MPSF teams since Long Beach State in 2006 to play a regular season match at Penn State.

    Off the Block conducted an interview with Penn State coach Mark Pavlik earlier this week to discuss the upcoming home matches this weekend.
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