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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — In the second men’s volleyball NCAA semifinal match last night, Penn State knocked the lights out of top-seeded UC Irvine, literally.

With the Nittany Lions up 14-13 in the 15-point fifth game, the lights in Penn State’s Rec Hall shorted out, silencing a home crowd that had been in a frenzy moments earlier.

When the backup lights came on 10 minutes later, the crowd resumed its cacophonous chants, and the Nittany Lions’ Steffin Rangel served an ace to complete the improbable victory for fourth seeded Penn State, 32-30, 30-23, 31-33, 27-30, 15-13.

After a relatively calm crowd witnessed UCLA defeat Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne in three straight games in the first NCAA semifinal match, the atmosphere in the Rec Hall was transformed in the second match as 3,430 fans, almost all supporting Penn State, were on their feet chanting and cheering.

It is this daunting atmosphere that UCLA will walk into on Saturday night when it faces Penn State for the NCAA Championship.

“Tonight it was almost filled, but on Saturday it is going to be standing room only and they are going to be much louder,” UCLA coach Al Scates said. “This place will be rocking.”

For the Bruins’ match, the Rec Hall was a neutral site, as both UCLA and IPFW had about 50 fans in attendance.

But the Bruins got a picture of what is to come when they witnessed the crowd’s wildness as the Nittany Lions surged out to a 2-0 game lead and then came back to win in Game 5.

In Game 2, a wave circled through the entire stadium as UCI appeared shaken by the strong play of the Nittany Lions and the Penn State home support.

Throughout the match, chants of “We are Penn State” filled the arena.

Even with such a hostile atmosphere awaiting them, the Bruins are confident in their ability to capture the NCAA title on Saturday.

Although Penn State may be one of the hardest places to play at, the Bruins have played four matches at the loudest and most hostile stadium in the nation: Hawai’i’s Stan Sheriff Center.

“It’s going to be like playing in Hawai’i because there are going to be thousands of people yelling at us,” Scates said. “The home crowd definitely pumped the team up, but we know what to expect.”

The Bruins believe their next match will be much like the last time they faced Hawai’i. In the quarterfinals of the MPSF tournament the Bruins beat the Warriors in front of 5,966 fans.

“The crowd does help the home team a lot, but we beat Hawai’i in Hawai’i and we just don’t let them affect us or get in our heads,” senior Damien Scott said.

IMPROBABLE FAN: In attendance at UCLA’s NCAA semifinal victory over IPFW was a woman from UCLA rival Hawai’i who Scates knows only as “Aunty.”

As Scates has traveled to the University of Hawai’i over the years for volleyball matches, he has become friends with Aunty despite knowing little about her.

Before the start of the match, Aunty gave Scates a purple lei, which made for an interesting portrait of the coach during the game as he paced the sidelines wearing a lei over his dress clothes.

“She called me over to her and gave me the lei and then kissed me on top of my head just like she does in Hawai’i,” Scates said. “It was special, and if she gives me another lei on Saturday, I’m definitely going to wear it for the match.”