Just eight games remain in the Big Ten women's volleyball season, and once again Penn State has a shot to finish on top.

However, the No. 11 Nittany Lions are not in a familiar position. Rather than sitting in first place, Penn State is looking up to three other teams — Wisconsin, Minnesota and Ohio State.

This weekend, the Lions will do their best to remedy that. They travel to Iowa today for an 8 p.m. match, and then square off against the No. 7 Gophers at the same time tomorrow. Penn State (20-4, 9-3 Big Ten) will look to feed off the momentum it has built, as it has turned its season around since the last time these teams met.

The mere thought of the Lions being 9-3 in the Big Ten at this point in the year seemed like a pipe dream just five weeks ago, when Minnesota (21-2, 10-2) handed Penn State its third loss in as many matches. The Lions had never started out 0-3 in the conference and, with a less-than-impressive victory the following night against Iowa (11-9, 7-5), the rest of the season did not look promising.

"I think after the first couple of games, we would have been happy to be in this position," Penn State junior Amanda Rome said.

Even more amazing about the team's rebound is that both the players and coaches have said repeatedly that their performances have not really been that solid.

"I'm still trying to get us playing consistent on a day-to-day basis," Lions coach Russ Rose said. "I am not too concerned about our opponents right now. I think our biggest opponent is ourselves."

Rose added that the best performance he has seen from his team was probably the Minnesota game. Although the loss ended the NCAA-record 87-match home winning-streak, Penn State did have its chances to win.

"I think it serves as sort of a barometer of how good we can be when we're on our game," Rome said. "But then again, we didn't follow through and win the match anyway."

That lost opportunity was the last time the Lions dropped a game. And it might have to remain that way for the rest of the season if they are to have a chance to finish in first place.

They still have games against No. 5 Wisconsin (21-2, 11-1) and the Buckeyes (20-2, 10-2) later in the season, but even by winning out, Penn State would need some help.

However, Rose is not thinking about the next eight games, and neither is his team. The focus remains on Iowa and Minnesota this weekend. The Lions realize how difficult the Big Ten is and that requires full attention on the task at hand.

"All 20 matches in conference play have the same value," Rose said. "Every team is capable of beating any team on any given night."