How the entire outlook of a weekend can change within 24 hours.

With the No. 9 Penn State women's volleyball team opening up the long-anticipated Big Ten schedule tonight at 7 at Rec Hall, a match that looked as if it might be a tune-up to prepare for tomorrow's showdown with No. 11 Ohio State all of a sudden takes on a dramatically different tone.

Tonight's opponent, Indiana, is fresh off a 30-28, 30-26, 29-31, 30-21 upset of the Buckeyes Wednesday night in Bloomington.

The perennial conference doormat Hoosiers also beat ranked Louisville on Saturday, and surprisingly, they look like the featured match for the Nittany Lions (10-1) this weekend.

"I think Indiana's always had really good athletes," Penn State assistant coach Julie Miller said. "We've known that they've been dangerous in the past. Now for the first time they're really starting to come together as a team."

Coming off an 8-20 campaign, the Hoosiers gained confidence by going 10-3 in non-conference play, including the 3-1 upset of the formerly No. 12 Cardinals.

But Indiana has been waiting to make its mark in just what might be the best conference in America.

"It starts now," Indiana head coach Kate Weismiller said in a press release. "It's the Big Ten and we know what that means. Playing so well against Louisville last Saturday, I think we came in with so much confidence. We're starting to gain the confidence that comes with winning."

Miller said it was only a matter of time before the Hoosiers made some waves.

"Some of the kids who are younger have a couple years of experience under their belt and they're really starting to make a contribution to the team," Miller said.

A win is a win, but it should be noted that Louisville has since fallen from the rankings, and Ohio State is decimated by the loss of no fewer then five players to injury, including starters outside hitter Maria Pongonis, setter Katie Virtue and middle blocker Katherine Grant.

"Ohio State's a little injury-ridden right now so for Indiana on the streak they're on to come out and beat Ohio State at home wasn't necessarily a big surprise," Miller said.

But the Hoosiers' surprising start, coupled with the health problems the preseason Big Ten favorite Buckeyes are facing, certainly change the relative importance of the weekend's matches for the Lions. Or do they?

"Our mindset is always prepare for every match," Miller said. "We look at every match as having equal importance, because we have 20 matches in the league and we have to fully prepare for both teams every weekend."

The Lions better be prepared this weekend, because in a startling turn of events, Ohio State (6-3, 0-1) might be the team that gets overlooked. And despite the rash of injuries, the Buckeyes are still an extremely talented team.

Sophomore outside hitter Stacy Gordon is dangerous, leading the Buckeyes with 6.03 kills per game. Senior leadership and experience comes from outside hitter Shelly Draeger and middle blocker Suzie Stiling.

But for now, in taking Miller's and head coach Russ Rose's philosophies of one match at a time, the Lions must concentrate on the Hoosiers.

Reigning conference player of the week sophomore Christina Archibald leads the Big Ten in kills with 236. Junior Melissa Brewer is coming off a 24-kill performance against Ohio State.