So, needless to say, the No. 11 Lions will have a score to settle when the No. 20 Golden Gophers return to Rec Hall tonight at 7. They will also host Iowa tomorrow night at 7.

"It's huge for us to win this game," senior outside hitter Katie Schumacher said. "It was tough last year, losing to them and hearing them talk about how they broke the streak. It was a big thing in their media guide. It's just Penn State pride. We have to play tough."

Minnesota is not the same team that went 30-4 last season and finished second in the conference. Youth abounds with just two returning starters, and only four seniors and two juniors on the 16-player roster.

The inexperience showed last week, when the Gophers lost to Michigan and Michigan State, both unranked. They posted victories against Indiana and Illinois this weekend to move to 4-2 in conference and 10-4 overall. The young team will learn a lot about playing in the Big Ten this weekend with their road trip also including a match at No. 10 Ohio State Sunday.

"I haven't seen us play with the stability required to be one of the top teams in the Big Ten," coach Mike Hebert said. "But I don't think we're so shaky that we can't possibly go on the road and win these two games. We have to serve, pass and defend well. We did those things last year with a much more veteran team, but I still think if we can do all of those things, we can come out with two wins."

The Gophers do have experience where it counts. Senior setter Lindsay Berg, a returning All Big Ten selection, is arguably better at running the offense than any setter in the conference. She is averaging 12.61 assists per game thus far, and has distributed the ball very well with four players averaging more than three kills per game. The Gophers also have physical hitters led by returning All-Big Ten middle blocker Stephanie Hagen.

"I think they're more physical than us," Rose said. "For us to be successful we're going to have to depend on our ball handling, passing and good communication. I think we've done better at that, but I think we've been outplayed at the net."

In Iowa, the Lions play a team that is facing some hard times. After finishing sixth in the conference last season with a 9-11 record in the Big Ten, the Hawkeyes are the only team in the Big Ten that has yet to garner a conference victory. It doesn't get any easier for coach Rita Buck-Crockett's team this week. They travel to Columbus tonight to play No. 10 Ohio State before coming to Rec Hall Saturday.

Despite their struggles, the Lions are not taking Iowa lightly. The Hawkeyes feature outside hitter Sara Meyermann who leads the conference with 5.30 kills per game.

"I think she's the purest outside hitter in the conference," Rose said. "She takes a good swing and brings it hard every time. The way she plays the game, you don't really block her. We have to play good defense and keep the ball in play.

"In this conference all the matches have the same value. You can't focus too much on beating Team A, then not be ready for Team B, because the games all mean the same. We have to compete hard, control the ball, and get ourselves in a position to win games."