men's volleyball
The boys volleyball team won the EIVA tournament for the second consecutive year with a 3-1 victory over George Mason. Tournament MVP John Kerr had 19 kills in the final, and Toby Ezeonu had 16 kills and a team-high six blocks.
Penn State earned an automatic berth from the conference to the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The Nittany Lions will play the University of California, Irvine in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. First service is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
men's lacrosse
The men's lacrosse team, which defeated Rutgers 15-9 in its final regular season game last weekend, will play the Scarlet Knights again in the Big Ten quarterfinals. TJ Malone and Matt Traynor each scored four goals in their first matchup, setting the pace on offense.
Earlier this week, TJ Malone and Jacques Frachion were named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and Specialist of the Year, respectively. Both were also named first-team All-Big Ten.
Saturday's quarterfinal game against Rutgers will be played on Big Ten Plus starting at 3 p.m. The winner will advance to next Thursday's semifinal match against Maryland. As far as the NCAA Tournament goes, Penn State should feel comfortable with its chances of earning an at-large bid even if it doesn't win the conference tournament. The Lions were the No. 7 seed. of the committee This is the ranking as of this week.
soft ball
The softball team took two of three games from Wisconsin on the road last weekend. Penn State won the first game 3-1, but lost the second game 17-3. The Nittany Lions won the rubber match 10-2, giving Bridget Nemeth her 20th win of the season. Penn State held a 3-1 lead, but Leanna Jones' first career grand slam in the sixth inning sparked the game for six runs.
After a day of rest, the Nittany Lions beat St. Francis 3-2 at home on Tuesday as Gisele Hernandez scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch.
With postseason play looming, Penn State enters this weekend's series against Michigan ranked 30th in RPI. If the Lions stay there, it should be enough to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011, but there are still plenty of softball games to play.
upcoming games: Friday (5 p.m. on Big Ten Plus), Saturday (1 p.m. on Big Ten Plus), Sunday (1 p.m. on Big Ten Plus) vs. Michigan.