It is rare in college sports for the two best players at a position to play against one another. But it is a very special occasion when they do.

Tomorrow will be one of those rare occasions in women's volleyball. When No. 1 Minnesota plays No. 4 Penn State, the nation's two best liberos will be going head to head.

They are on different ends of the libero spectrum. Flashy vs. steady. Spectacular vs. consistent. The Lions have the services of the latter libero in Kaleena Walters. Walters has been a staple in the Lions lineup since she arrived at Happy Valley as a freshman in 2002. She is what Penn State women' volleyball coach Russ Rose calls a franchise player in volleyball because of her work effort and leadership skills. She is the follow-my-lead type, not very vocal but respected immensely.

She had one of the best weekends of her career the last time the Lions were home as she recorded 57 digs in nine games. She is the spark plug of a defense that has helped the Lions get 11 wins. Walters is a very energetic player and is very popular with her teammates. She shows her outgoing personality by celebrating every point as if it had just won the match. Along with being one of the players that makes up the heart and soul of the team, she is also an irreplaceable part that makes the Penn State defense go.

"Kaleena is one of the best liberos in the country," Penn State defensive specialist Kris Brown said. "[Walters and Gentil] are completely different players. I believe that Kaleena doesn't get the respect she deserves."

The respect hasn't been there because she has been blocked by flashy part of the equation.

That would be Golden Gopher junior Paula Gentil. The 5-foot-9 native of Fortaleza Ceara', Brazil, Gentil is one of the more athletic liberos and she throws her body all over the floor when going for a dig. She had a sick game on Saturday at Michigan, when she recorded 39 digs in a three-game match. Yes, 39 digs in three games. It is now the Minnesota record for most digs in any length of match; the former record was 37 against USC in five games on Aug. 28, which she also held.

For people that have followed her career, nothing is unbelievable any more. She has been named to the All-America team and received the Big Ten defensive player of the year award in each of her first two years at Minnesota. Last season she broke the Big Ten record for digs in a season with 656. She has recorded back to back 500 plus dig seasons.

"In the system that Minnesota runs, [Gentil] is like a free safety," Rose said. "She goes wherever she can and wherever she wants to go. That allows her to generate the numbers that she generated last weekend."

There's no denying that she is one of the best in the country at what she does.

"[Walters and Gentil] are both similar in that they are both very good passers and help their teams on the defensive end a lot," Minnesota coach Mike Hebert said. "The difference is [Walters] is in a much more structure defensive system, while we let [Gentil] run more free."

Whether Walters and Gentil like it or not, starting this season their careers will run parallel and they will be compared until they both graduate. Tomorrow is just the first of a minimum of four meaningful matches against one another.

So they must look forward to playing each other?

"I'm not worried about that, I just want to beat Minnesota." Walters said.