LOS ANGELES -- Two weeks into the 1999 season, the Penn State men's volleyball team owned an embarrassing 0-7 record and was going nowhere fast.
Of course, those seven losses were all against teams ranked in the top five in the nation. But who knew the Nittany Lions would be in the NCAA Final Four this week, while the opponents they lost to during that stretch would be on summer vacation?"It's a real credit to our team that we didn't fold up the tent in January," said Penn State coach Mark Pavlik. "We didn't panic."
The battle-tested, 13th-rated Nittany Lions (22-12) are big underdogs when they face No. 1 ranked BYU Thursday night in the national semifinals at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion. The match can be seen live on Ch. 11 at 7:30.
Though Penn State is only 2-11 against ranked teams, don't expect it to be fazed against the favored Cougars. The Nittany Lions are making their eighth Final Four appearance in the last nine years and are the only non-California volleyball team ever to win a national championship, which happened in 1994.
And when things were looking bleak for Penn State earlier this season, the veteran players remembered the program's proud tradition.
"That taste of success we've had in the past kept us motivated," said senior defensive specialist Dan Schall.
Rallying has become the Nittany Lion's calling card all year. Last weekend in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association tournament championship match, for instance, Penn State found itself down 2-0 against New Jersey Tech before coming back to claim a 3-2 victory.
As for the Cougars, who boast a sparkling 28-1 record, things have come much easier. They started the season with 18 straight wins, and 19 of BYU's triumphs have been 3-0 sweeps.
"I watched a little bit of tape on BYU, enough to wish I hadn't seen any tape," Pavlik said. "It will be a real challenge for us."
The Cougars' major concern is the health of their star player, senior middle blocker Ryan Millar. Last weekend Millar suffered from the flu and the symptoms are still lingering. Millar missed practice Wednesday morning but he is expected to start against Penn State.
"It doesn't matter how sick he is, he's going to have to get into the doggone match," said BYU coach Carl McGown. "A few years ago Michael Jordan had the flu and beat the Utah Jazz. I told Ryan, 'Here's your chance to be like Mike.' "
The key for BYU against Penn State will be dominating the net behind the blocking of Millar and 6-foot-9 sophomore Mac Wilson.
The Nittany Lions are led by middle blocker Sergio Pampena, ranked No. 2 in the country in hitting. He also leads the team in blocks.
Following the BYU-Penn State match, Long Beach State and Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne meet in the other semifinal. The winners will play for the national championship Saturday. BYU is winless against Penn State in seven meetings. The two schools have not played each other since 1994.
NOTES: ESPN2 will broadcast both of Thursday's semifinals and Saturday's championship match on a tape-delayed basis. The BYU-Penn State match, which will start at 7:30 p.m. MT, will be aired later that night in a two-hour version at 9:30 p.m. MT. A 90-minute version of the match will be re-aired on Tuesday, May 11 at noon MT. The second semifinal between Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne will be televised on Saturday/Sunday, May 8/9, in a 90-minute format at 10:30 MT. That same version will be rebroadcast on Wednesday, May 12, at noon MT. Saturday's championship match will be aired at 7:30 p.m. MT. A 90-minute version of the championship match will be re-aired on Thursday, May 13, at noon (11 a.m. PT).
KBYU-Ch. 11 will carry the Cougars' first-round match live at 7:30 p.m. Should BYU advance to the championship game, KBYU will also carry the ESPN2 feed live at 5:30 p.m.