It was a struggle, but it was a win nonetheless.

The Penn State women's volleyball team faced one of its toughest tests this season against Colorado State last night in NCAA Sweet Sixteen.

Traveling across the country to Los Angeles, Calif., the Nittany Lions were the underdog for the first time in quite a while.

However, Penn State handled it well enough in their 3-1 win against the Rams (9-15, 15-11, 15-12, 15-7) At first, it seemed as though the outcome might be the other way around. Colorado State got off to a hot start, jumping out to a 12-4 lead in game one. Penn State clawed back to make it a contest, but the Rams were too tough in the end as they won 15-9. Game two was much closer, the Lions and Rams were tied at nine. Penn State went to win 15-11. Bad passing and serving struggles plagued the Rams all evening. Colorado State committed 24 service errors throughout the match.

Penn State took an 8-2 lead in the third game before the Rams mounted a furious comeback. Colorado State tied the score at 8-8 and soon grabbed a 10-9 advantage.

"They did a great job adjusting to the way we were playing," Penn State head coach Russ Rose said. "Colorado State seemed to know where we were going and understood what we were trying to do."

After the Rams took the lead Rose wisely called a timeout, giving his team a chance to regain their composure. Apparently, it worked as Penn State worked its way to a 13-10 lead. Following one last gasp by the Rams, the Lions finally closed the game out 15-12 and went on top 2-1. The win set up a strange game four, where the Lions exploded out to 12-0 lead. Colorado State answered with seven straight points and had a glimmer of hope. Penn State rebounded as it rattled off the final three points. One of the bigger errors occurred in the final frame with the score 12-7 and the Rams with all the momentum.

The serve flew into the net and allowed the Lions to claim victory.

Though the match was plagued with a lot of poor play from Penn State, sophomore Robyn Guokas played solid in the win.

Guokas hit over .500 in the match and Mishka Levy led the team with 20 kills.

"It was a great win for the team and we are so proud of Katie," Karen Schumacher, Katie's sister said.

With the win, Penn State will face either University Southern California/Florida match that was played late last night. That match will be held at 10:30 tonight and the winner will advance to the Final Four in Richmond, Va. on Dec. 14-16.