Oh, how quickly things can change.

Just three days ago, the No. 16 Penn State Women's Volleyball team (22-4, 11-3 Big Ten) was in a second-place tie with Wisconsin, and a game behind first place Minnesota. But after a wild weekend, one in which the Nittany Lions beat both Purdue and Indiana, Penn State now sits alone atop the Big Ten.

On Friday night, Penn State dismantled an overmatched Indiana team, beating the 3-0 (30-16, 30-15, 30-28). Some new faces led the Lions' offensive attack as Syndie Nadeau finished the game hitting a match high .385 with 11 kills.

But it was truly a team effort, in all meanings of the phrase, as captains Erin Iceman and Cara Smith finished with 12 and eight kills respectively, and the team as a whole finished with eight blocks, with not one Penn Stater finishing with more than three.

"When we spread the offense out it makes it more challenging for the other team," Smith said. "They can't focus on just shutting down one player."

On Saturday night in front of close to 2000 people, Penn State made quick work of the Boilermakers, playing almost error-free volleyball and winning in the same fashion as the previous night, 3-0 (30-13, 30-24, 30-23).

Instead of offense being the big story, it was the defense that led Penn State as Kaleena Walters tallied 20 digs in the match. Walters, who is now averaging more than four digs per game, is second in the Big Ten in that category.

Ashley Pederson, who was held to a season-low three kills on Friday night, turned things around completely on Saturday, finishing with a match-high 18 kills while hitting .405. Smith and Iceman both rounded up 11 kills apiece, helping the team finish with a .371 hitting percentage and an even more impressive nine hitting errors.

"We're very confident with the way we're playing right now," Walters said. "We can look each other in the eyes and know we're going to pull out tight games."

The wins push Penn State's winning streak to four, also extending the Lions streak over the Hoosiers to 28 straight (Indiana has never defeated Penn State). That stat is even more impressive knowing how tough it is to play in another team's gym at least once a year.

"Winning on the road is no easy task," Penn State coach Russ Rose said. "We were the only team to win both games away this weekend."

Penn State's wins, combined with Minnesota and Wisconsin losses, have catapulted the Lions to first place in the Big Ten -- a position they haven't been in since early October.

With only six games remaining in the Big Ten season, the Penn State players know that they should be focused on one thing and one thing only.

"[Winning out] should be our goal right now," Walters said. "If we win out, we're Big Ten champs."