W. volleyball

It are on a 12-match winning streak. This season, it claimed victory 30 times. And two weeks ago, it was crowned Big Ten Champions.

But at this point, that is all irrelevant. Now in the third round of the NCAA tournament, all that matters for the No. 10 Penn State women's volleyball team (30-4) is how they play in a single match.

That match will be played tonight in Gainesville, Fla. against No. 6 Kansas State (30-4) and will determine whether or not the team that has already come so far can make it even further.

"It's all about having the best team show up every night," senior defensive specialist Emily Gerega said. "We'll see what happens."

At this point in the season, having the best possible team show up and play is absolutely essential, as no team has made it to the Sweet 16 without doing a lot of things right on the court. And the Wildcats are certainly no exception.

The six seed in the tournament, they will enter O'Connell Center with a lot of confidence, a Big 12 Championship and five players who were selected as either first team or honorable mention on the all-conference Big 12 team.

Interestingly, Kansas State will also bring to the floor many similarities to the Nittany Lions, including a dominant middle hitter with an attack percentage standing over .400, and a core of seniors that leads the team and a traditional style offense.

But there are differences, they are what may present the toughest challenges for the Penn State women.

On the outside, the Wildcats have a 24-year old hitter, Valeria Hejjas, who formerly played on the Hungarian national team. And directing their offense is a setter who takes nearly twice as many attack attempts as Penn State's sophomore setter, Sam Tortorello.

"There's that little intangible of having a former national team player that maybe is a little more comfortable taking big swings," Penn State women's volleyball coach Russ Rose said. "[And] one of the bigger differences is their setter is much more offensive-minded. If it's a good pass and she can score, she's going to score."

But Rose is quick to assert that in the postseason, it is how you play, not who you play. So for the Lions, it is not about what Kansas State has, it is about what they can do on their own side of the net.

With reaching the Final Four as the goal currently topping their list, the Lions know that tonight is the next step, that tonight the chance is there -- and for them, that is as exciting as it gets.

"We're in the third round of the NCAA tournament, and we're competing to go to the Final Four," senior opposite Erin Iceman said. "It doesn't get any better than this."

-- By Jenny Vrentas