Dec. 3, 2008

Click here to access Penn State's sub-regional web site, which includes information on all four teams, as well as live stats and streaming links and other useful information on University Park, Pa.

Click here to visit the Interviews section of the Bobcat Broadcast Booth, where Russ Eisenstein catches up with head coach Ryan Theis and junior outside hitter Ellen Herman.

ATHENS, Ohio - The Ohio University volleyball team will open the sixth NCAA Championship in school history at 3:30 p.m. ET on Friday when it meets Ivy League champion Yale in first-round action at Rec Hall on the campus of Penn State University. The winner of the opening contest will advance to meet the winner of the first-round match between Long Island and top-seeded Penn State at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday.

The Bobcats (24-7, 13-3 Mid-American Conference) own a 3-5 all-time mark in the NCAA Championship, and a 2-3 record in first-round play. Ohio, which has never played at Rec Hall, is making its sixth-straight appearance in the NCAA Championship, the second-longest streak in MAC history.

Ohio swept its only previous meeting with Yale - the championship match of the Stony Brook's Holiday Inn Express Volleyball Invitational in 2006 - behind a match-high 16 kills from then-freshman Ellen Herman (Toledo, Ohio). The Green & White head into Friday's contest on a 10-match winning streak, marking the sixth year in a row that it has posted a string of at least 10-straight wins, and has come out on top in 15 of its last 16 outings.

The 2008 MAC Player of the Year and MAC Tournament MVP, Herman has already established school single-season records for both kills and attempts in the rally scoring era, and will take the court on Friday needing 39 and 11, respectively, to break Ohio's overall single-season marks. She leads the MAC and ranks 10th nationally with an average of 4.49 kills per set, while her averages of 2.58 digs and 0.50 blocks per frame also represent career bests.

Two other Ohio players are also within reach of career milestones as the Yale match approaches, as junior middle blocker Jane Sytsma (Madison, Wis.) needs just two total blocks to move into eighth place on the program's career list, while senior defensive specialist Molly Mangan (Claire, Ill.) needs to play in two more matches to enter into a tie for ninth on the school's all-time ledger.

Sophomore setter Michelle Jantsch (Mission Hills, Kan.), who became just the sixth player in school history to eclipse the 2,000-career assists mark in last week's sweep of Dayton, will take the court on Friday with 44 aces to her credit for the season, just one shy of matching Lori McCall (2000) for the 10th-best single-season output in school history.

All-session tickets are currently on sale, and may be purchased for $12 for adults and $8 for students and youth by calling (814) 863-1000. Penn State will also host an NCAA Regional next weekend, so fans are encouraged to confirm the fact that they are purchasing tickets for this weekend's sub-regional action. Single-session passes will be sole at the door each day at a price of $7 for adults and $5 for students and youth.