No. 8 Women’s Volleyball Set for Two Ranked Opponents in Tampa

TAMPA, Fla.. – The eighth-ranked Penn State women’s volleyball team opens the 2023 season with a pair of nationally-ranked opponents this weekend as it travels to Tampa, Florida for the Road 2 Tampa Bay Invitational. The Nittany Lions play No. 11 Florida at 8 p.m. on Friday at Amalie Arena, the home of the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning. That is also the site of this year’s NCAA Division I Championship. They then turn their attention to a match with No. 20 Georgia Tech at USF’s Yuengling Center on Saturday at 6 p.m.

ROAD 2 TAMPA BAY INVITATIONAL SCHEDULE

Friday, Aug. 25 (Amalie Arena)

8 p.m. | #8 Penn State vs. #11 Florida | Live Stats | ESPN+

Saturday, Aug. 26 (Yuengling Center)

6 p.m. | #8 Penn State vs. #20 Georgia Tech | Live Stats | ESPN+

SEASON OPENER NOTES

• Penn State is set to open the 2023 season at Amalie Arena, which is the site of this season’s NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championship. The Nittany Lions play two matches at the Road 2 Tampa Bay Invitational, starting with a match against No. 11 Florida at Amalie Arena, before taking on No. 20 Georgia Tech at USF’s Yuengling Center the following night.

• The Nittany Lions are 38-8-1 all-time in season openers. They are 1-0 in season openers under current head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley as they swept UConn at Rec Hall to begin the 2022 season.

• Friday’s match against Florida will mark the eighth time Penn State has opened a season against a nationally-ranked opponent. It is the first time the Nittany Lions open against a nationally-ranked opponent since traveling to Honolulu and taking down No. 12 Hawaii to start the 2008 season.

• Penn State opened a season against an SEC opponent just one other time in program history, falling to Florida in five sets in 1999. That match was played in Lincoln, Nebraska.

SERIES HISTORY – FLORIDA

• Penn State is 8-3 in the all-time series with Florida. The teams first played in 1986.

• Friday marks the first meeting between the teams since 2013. The Nittany Lions won that match in three sets in a non-conference event in Austin, Texas.

• Penn State also won in 2009 and 2010 to give it a three-match winning streak in the series.

SERIES HISTORY – GEORGIA TECH

• Penn State is 3-1 in the all-time series with Georgia Tech. The teams first played in 1993.

• The Nittany Lions won the first three meetings in 1993,…