It wouldn't be November in Minnesota if the Big Ten Championship weren't on the line.

The Nittany Lions (19-2, 10-2 Big Ten) walked out of the Minnesota Sports Pavilion last year with a Big Ten trophy in their arms, but this year the fight for the title has left more arms folded.

Penn State's season travel partner, No. 7 Ohio State (21-1, 11-1), faces the Golden Gophers (21-3, 10-2) tomorrow night, hoping to maintain its position at the top of the conference.

Again, the Lions face the Gophers coming off of a tough loss.

This time it was Wisconsin who took Minnesota to five games last weekend in Madison.

The last time the Lions faced the Gophers, Oct. 2, Ohio State had handed then-No. 1 Minnesota its first Big Ten loss of the season just the night before they came to Happy Valley. The Gophers came into Rec Hall and took revenge, taking care of the Lions in five games.

"We have to make adjustments to Minnesota because Minnesota won the match," Penn State coach Russ Rose said. "They don't have to change. They beat us doing what they do well. If we can't defend what they do well, we'll lose again."

The Lions actually out-hit the Gophers in the first meeting, .288 to .219, respectively, but statistics can be deceiving.

Minnesota's outside hitter Kelly Bowman was the biggest foil for the Lions last game, with 16 kills at a .412 hitting percentage.

"To me Bowman is their hardest player to defend," Rose said.

"She's got a great volleyball IQ, and we don't have a real good answer for how well she plays.

"She's got great vision and great power, and she plays like how I want our kids to play."

Minnesota doesn't use a true setter like Penn State's Sam Tortorello. Instead both Bowman and Lindsay Taatjes handle the majority of the passing and setting duties, while also being set for kills at times themselves.

The Gophers complex offensive system keeps junior libero Paula Gentil open to play like a free safety on defense.

Gentil, the only player at the libero position to earn All-America honors in the last two years, is another one of the Gophers about whom the Lions are concerned.

Gentil was a brick-wall the last time the teams met, with a ridiculous 47 digs.

After Minnesota tonight, the Lions complete their cornfield tour in Iowa tomorrow night.

The Hawkeyes (9-15, 1-10) have struggled in conference this season, and Penn State swept Iowa easily in Rec Hall earlier this season.

Freshman outside hitter Kate Price echoed her teammates and coaches when she expressed what she felt would be the key factor for a possible Penn State win in both games.

"Just finding a way to score," Price said.

Quotable

Penn State women's volleyball coach Russ Rose, on the crowds in Madison, Wisc. during Halloween weekend, the site of Minnesota's defeat last Saturday: "I didn't know when I read the promotion thing that you got in free with a costume. I thought the time that we were there you got in for free if your blood alcohol was 0.2."