A West Coast trip in December for a college student would be a welcome break.

But the No. 3 Penn State women's volleyball team (29-2) isn't going to the left coast for rest and relaxation. The Nittany Lions embarked on their 2,600-mile trip on Wednesday to prepare for a battle with perennial powerhouse UCLA tonight in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament.

"People have been talking about the time difference, but I don't see that being a problem," fifth-year senior Tabitha Eshleman said. "We're going to be there to play. It's all about playing. The time thing -- we're going to get adjusted to it."

Even though Penn State won't complain about the traveling, it is going to

be a factor. The Lions are in a bracket with two teams from California (UCLA and St. Mary's) and the host team, the University of Washington.

The Huskies might be the most dangerous team of the four. Washington was ranked No. 1 in the nation for seven weeks before losses to Stanford and the University of Southern California. Those losses subsequently dropped them to No. 5 and helped the Huskies play in their own regional.

Before Penn State worries about Washington, it must get through the Bruins of UCLA, which comes into the match after defeating Loyola-Marymount in four games and Long Beach State, the host of the Final Four, in three. The first thing that jumps out of the stats sheet about UCLA is its deep bench, with nine players recording 100-plus kills for the season.

"One constant with UCLA is that they always have talent," Penn State coach Russ Rose said. "They are very disciplined and their volleyball IQ is what you would expect it to be.

"I don't know a whole lot about them, but the Pac-10 is a very tough conference and they have played the top teams in the country."

The Lions are also a balanced offensive team, but don't possess the depth of UCLA. Penn State had seven players finish with 100-plus kill, but its leader had 77 more --Kate Price has 410 to Brynn Murphy's 333.

Penn State also has the advantage on the defensive end. The Lions are led by all-Big Ten libero Kaleena Walters, who recorded 600 digs, and three players averaging one or more blocks per game, led by freshman blocking machine Melissa Walbridge with 1.30 per game.

A win against the Bruins would seem to put Penn State on a head-on collision course with seventh-seeded Washington, but that is anything but a certainty. The Huskies have to get though the upstart, feisty girls from St. Mary's.

The Gaels have been the Cinderella story of the year. They came from nowhere and to achieve a 25-3 record. St. Mary might be a very dangerous opponent for Washington because the Gaels defeated a very good Stanford team twice and the Huskies split their season series with the Cardinal.

"I don't think St. Mary's will be in fear of any other teams in the tournament," Rose said.

All the players will tell you that they are taking it one game at a time, but you can forgive the seniors for looking ahead to a trip to Long Beach, Calif., Thursday night.

"Only one team ends the season with a win," Eshleman said. "I want to be that team, that's the way I want to go out."