Are you ready for action and excitement? You had better be, because Big Ten women's volleyball is finally here.

Northwestern and Illinois will face the Lady Lions tonight and tomorrow night at Rec Hall as Big Ten conference play begins. The Lady Lions also host ex-Atlantic 10 rival Temple (2-9) this weekend.

The No. 17 Lady Lions believe they are ready.

"We are all really excited to start Big Ten competition," junior Angie Farlow said. "We have been practicing hard, but we just want to mentally be ready to face the challenges that come with play in the Big Ten."

No. 5 Illinois has a demanding weekend ahead. Tonight, the fighting Illini are in Columbus, Ohio, to take on No. 14 Ohio State.

"This is a tough trip for people," Penn State Coach Russ Rose said. "If Ohio State puts Illinois in a bind, it will make it that much easier for us on Saturday."

Northwestern, one of the few schools with a career winning record against Penn State (6-4), will not be an easy match and the Lady Lions know they need to concentrate on every conference match.

"We're going to put our best effort forward with both teams," Farlow said. "We won't play differently against either team because no matter who we play, a win is a win and a loss is still a loss."

The Lady Lions have been working all season long on learning how to play together. Senior Leanne Kling and sophomore Laura Cook are third and fourth in hitting efficiency in the conference (.351 and .350, respectively). Sophomore Saundi Lamoureux leads the Big Ten in blocks with 1.95 per game.

"I hope that we can play together as a team," setter Salima Davidson said. "That's something we've been saying all season and I believe we've been improving on that."

A new hurdle in Rose's path is the recent flu epidemic. This is just one of the areas where the Lady Lions are not doing well.

"A number of kids have the flu right now so I'd say we're not feeling well," Rose said. "Our practices this week haven't been good so I wouldn't say we're practicing well."

However, there have been some bright moments for the team. The Lady Lions are currently riding a 16-match home winning streak and are coming off two tournament wins in the last two weeks.

"Last week against weaker competition we played well," Rose said, "but that was a week ago. The level of competition this weekend is a big step up from what we've played the last couple of weeks."

Freshman Zeynep Ton hopes to give Rose some help off the bench. The 17-year-old played on the junior and senior national teams for Turkey. She has played against the Soviets and against other foreign countries, so she has a great deal of volleyball experience.

"I wouldn't hesitate to put Zeynep in for either of our three outside hitters," Rose said. "Her experience exceeds many of the players who are starting ahead of her."

As a team, the Lady Lions lead the Big Ten in blocks and digs per game. The team is also third in hitting efficiency.

Kling, who is still hindered by an ankle injury, has stepped up to be the team's emotional leader.

"Leanne Kling is a fierce competitor that rises to the occasion and has the ability to take the team to a higher level," Rose said. "We don't have other players that have the ability to do that. Hopefully, somebody will emerge with that same potential that Leanne has demonstrated throughout her entire career."