The young Penn State women's volleyball team (11-0) passed its first test of the season as it swept through its first two Big Ten opponents.

The No. 4 Nittany Lions defeated Northwestern Friday night (30-25, 30-24, 30-24) and Big Ten-title contender Wisconsin yesterday afternoon (30-19, 30-26, 30-28) to stretch their winning streak to 11 matches.

Penn State's defense was once again solid, led by juniors Kaleena Walters and Sam Tortorello, as it was able to hold the Badgers and Wildcats to .132 and .066 hitting percentages, respectively. The Lions got good blocking from middle hitters Cassy Salyer and Kim Holm, who combined for 15 blocks in the two matches.

"We played well as a team," said fifth-year senior Tabitha Eshelman, who recorded a career high 18 digs in the Wisconsin match. "Our block was really good and it allowed us to know exactly where the ball was going to go."

With the success of the defense, the Lions are not forced to depend on solely out- swinging teams. This was showcased against Northwestern. Penn State committed 22 errors and hit .151 and still dominated the Wildcats.

Then the Lions showed how dominant they can be when firing on all cylinders in the match against Wisconsin.

During the first game, the Lions went on a 13-2 run that took the game from 17-17 to 30-19, finishing with only two hitting errors in that game. Also Penn State's defense held Wisconsin's star junior middle hitter Shelia Shaw in check for the most part, as she compiled only eight kills on 32 attempts.

"We were out of synch against Northwestern," Penn State women's volleyball coach Russ Rose said. "Our offense wasn't very good. But we played extremely well [yesterday] against a Wisconsin team that is much more physical than us."

The Badgers showed their athletic prowess by recording 11.5 blocks in the loss. What Shaw couldn't do on the offensive end, she tried to make up for with her six blocks.

The best player of the weekend, Penn State outside hitter Sydnie Nadeau, almost slipped under the radar, like she has all season. The quiet Nadeau was the Lions best hitter, tallying 22 kills and a .368 hitting percenatge. The senior was stellar on the defensive end as well.

"To win two matches 3-0 on the road in the Big Ten is great," Tortorello said. "It's a great way to start conference play."

Big Ten Update

In other Big Ten action: Purdue defeated Illinois in four games (30-25, 30-25, 21-30, 30-28) at Illinois' Huff Hall. Illinois All-American setter Erin Virtue tore her anterior cruciate ligament in practice Thursday and will miss the remainder of the season. After pulling off the upset of the season and being the feel-good story, the Illini are now going to have to proceed with out the team's leader.

Also, Minnesota won its only match against Michigan, which should keep the Golden Gophers at the top of the AVCA rankings for when they head to Penn State to play the Lions at Rec. Hall this weekend.