Match Notes

HONOLULU - The 13th-ranked University of Hawai'i men's volleyball team opens the 2009 season by hosting the 15th Outrigger Hotels Invitational, Jan. 8-10, at the Stan Sheriff Center. The sport's most prestigious early-season tournament features defending national champion and preseason No. 1 Penn State, No. 7 Southern California, No. 10 Ohio State and host Hawai'i. 

The round-robin format schedule includes matches at 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. each day.  

Tournament Schedule
Jan. 8     USC  vs. Penn State 4:00 p.m.
                Ohio State 7:00 p.m.
Jan. 9     Ohio State vs. Penn State 4:00 p.m.
                USC 7:00 p.m. 
Jan. 10   Ohio State vs. USC 4:00 p.m.
                 Penn State 7:00 p.m.

Tournament Notes
What: Outrigger Hotels Invitational
Who: Defending national champion Penn State, Southern California, Ohio State, Hawai'i
When: Thursday, Jan. 8 through Saturday, Jan. 10
Time: 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. each night
Where: Stan Sheriff Center, Honolulu, HI
Television Coverage: KFVE-TV (Ch. 5) will televise all UH matches live with Jim Leahey (play-by-play) and Chris McLachlin (color). Rebroadcast at 10:30 p.m. each night.
Radio Coverage: ESPN 1420 is broadcasting all UH matches live with Scott Robbs calling the action. Live audio streaming on espn1420am.com
Live Stats: Live stats of all matches are available on HawaiiAthletics.com
Promotions: Outrigger Hotels is giving out 1,000 hand fans before each UH match.
Tickets: Lower-level $11; Upper-level adult $8, Upper-level senior citizen $7; Upper-level youth tickets (high school and under) $3. All UH system students with valid ID are FREE.

The Warriors finished last season with an 11-16 mark and missed the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play-offs for the first time since 1993. Despite suffering his first sub-.500 regular season record, head coach Mike Wilton managed to pick up career win No. 300 last year.

The Nittany Lions completed the 2008 season with a 30-1 mark and captured their second NCAA Championship with a 3-1 victory over Pepperdine. Penn State returns five starters from that squad including All-Americans Max Holt and Max Lipsitz.

USC returns three starters from a squad that finished 13-16 overall and placed eighth in the MPSF. Ohio State, winners of the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association, return four starters from a team that won 20 matches and fell to eventual champion Penn State in the NCAA's a year ago. 

Against the three participating teams, UH owns a 33-27 edge over USC, 12-4 advantage over Penn state and won its only meeting over Ohio State.
 
This Year's Participants in the Outrigger Hotels Invitational
Hawai'i owns a 25-15 all-time record in the Outrigger Hotels Invitational. UH has  five tournament championships in 1996, '97, '99, 2004, and '06. Penn State also has participated in all 14 previous tournaments and boasts a 12-28 record with one championship which occurred last season. USC will be making its first tournament appearance.