There's only one team the Penn State women's volleyball team needs to beat this weekend in the opening round of the NCAA tournament at Rec Hall.

No, it's not the eight-seed in the tournament, UCLA. Nor is it their first round opponent, Fairfield.

This opponent is much tougher, and has wreaked havoc on the Nittany Lions all year. They're the team in blue and white, the one the crowd of over 2,000 people will be cheering on.

"This team is so up and down," said head coach Russ Rose. "It's difficult to predict what's going to happen with them."

The Lions have never lost an NCAA match at Rec Hall.

It's a new situation for Rose, who says he generally has a better feel for his team by this time in the season. That, combined with the rally score format implemented this season, means that this tournament could be the most unique in years.

"We were playing better at this time last year," said Rose. "And we had the upset against Colorado State. We're just going to see what happens. I've never had a team this hot and cold."

No. 16 Penn State (21-7, 14-6) will take on Fairfield tonight at 7 p.m. No. 14 UCLA (18-8) will take on Ivy League champion University of Pennsylvania (18-6) at 5 p.m. in the opener. The winner of the two games will meet at 7 on Saturday night for the right to advance to regionals next weekend.

The Stags (19-12, 8-1) are making their fifth straight trip to the NCAA tournament, each time earning the bid by winning the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC.)

Fairfield comes in riding high despite two losses last weekend. They went four games with No. 14 Pacific and took No. 13 Utah to five games.

"They showed that they can compete at a very high level," said Rose after reviewing his scouting report.

The Lions beat the Stags two seasons ago, but two individual performances still stand out in Rose's mind.

"We didn't stop (Conny) Paul or (Joanne) Saunders then," he said, "and they're only going to be better."

Paul (3.86 kills per game, .334 average) and Saunders (3.65 kills per game on 1,141 attempts) lead a Fairfield team which figures to come out aggressively in the early going. The Stags will try to serve tough and throw-off Penn State's ball handling.

There have been patches of brilliance this year for the Lions. Times when everything worked on all cylinders. The win against No. 6 Wisconsin, which was the Badgers' only Big Ten loss, sticks out.

"There just seems to be segments of the game that misfire with this squad," Rose said. "We need Katie (Schumacher) and Mishka (Levy) to put together good games, but that really hasn't happened on a consistent basis."

The true key will probably be the middle. Penn State plays best as a team when they at least attempt to run the offense through Cara Smith and Nadia Edwards. When the opponent shifts to compensate, Schumacher and Levy have more openings.

The Lions appeared relaxed as they warmed up for practice yesterday. In the South Gym of Rec Hall, assistant coach Mike Schall tossed a football to them as they jogged around the gym.

"We're coming off a good weekend," said Schumacher of Penn State's first away sweep of the season last weekend against Iowa and Minnesota. "You've got to be ready to play now. If you aren't, you're crazy."

For the first time in a prolific 23-year career, Rose isn't positive his team is ready.

"It's up to them and go out and have fun, play hard and be able to look each other in the eye and know that they are going to battle with players who care for and respect each other, and are going to get the job done," he said.