PENN STATE: LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO ($)        NAVY: LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO         UMBC: LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – The Eastern Kentucky University volleyball team is set to open the 2018 season at the Penn State Invitational this weekend in State College, Pennsylvania.
 
The Colonels will take on Penn State at 7:30 p.m. eastern on Friday, followed by contests against the United States Naval Academy at 1:00 p.m. and the University of Maryland Baltimore County at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday.
 
Live statistics and video will be provided for each match with the match against Penn State requiring a subscription to the Big Ten Network.
 
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
 
-EKU finished the 2017 slate with a 13-19 mark, posting a 10-6 record in league action.
-Chloe Rojas was the third Colonel to take Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year following the 2017 campaign.
-Rojas and Cassie Knutson were each named to the preseason all-conference team.
-Head Coach Lori Duncan is entering her 21^st and final season.
-The Colonels return eight, welcome in two transfers and bring in five freshmen.
-Pennsylvania is home to six athletes on the EKU roster.
 
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS:
 
PENN STATE
-The Colonels are 1-6 all-time against the Nittany Lions. The last meeting between the squads was in 2015.
-Penn State posted a 33-2 record last season with a 19-1 mark in the Big Ten.
-PSU is currently ranked No. 6 in the country.
-Head Coach Russ Rose is entering his 40^th season and is the winningest coach by percentage all time, and current winningest coach active by wins and percentage. 
 
NAVY
-Navy finished 23-8 last season with a 12-4 mark in the Patriot League.
-The Colonels have squared off against the Midshipmen just once and EKU won in straight sets.
-Five athletes recorded 200+ kills last season, three of them – Maddi Sgattoni, Katie Patrick and Sarena Seelbach are returning.
-Sgattoni led the Patriot League in 2017 and ranked 29^th nationally with an average of .42 aces-per-set. She also ranked sixth in the conference with 306 kills.
-This is Paco Labrador's first season at the helm of Navy volleyball.
 
UMBC
-This will be the first time the Colonels have taken the court against UMBC.
-The Retrievers finished 14-12 with a 12-4 record in the American East last season.
-UMBC returns 12-of-14 from last season – four seniors, two juniors, six sophomores – and welcomes in three freshmen.
-Carmen Freemen led the team last season with 225 kills and was named the American East Co-Rookie of the Year.
-Kristin Watson was named to the second team after the 2017 campaign, but named the 2016 American East Defensive Specialist of the Year.
 
 
WHAT'S NEXT:
-EKU will travel to Albuquerque, New Mexico to take part in the Lobo Classic next weekend.