Over the last four years, the series between Penn State and Ohio State women's volleyball teams has been a split. Four wins for both teams.

Things have changed for both the Nittany Lions and the Buckeyes. A whole class of players has come and gone, the most notable being a Buckeye, former National Player of the Year Stacey Gordon.

"I always felt like I was Stacey Gordon's biggest fan," Penn State women's volleyball coach Russ Rose said. "I just loved the way she approached the game."

When the No. 4 Lions (11-2, 0-2) face the No. 18 Buckeyes (8-3, 1-1) at 7 tonight in Columbus, Ohio, Gordon won't be anywhere to be seen on the court. Her 7.08 kills per game that brought her national recognition last year won't factor into the score. But this doesn't mean Penn State won't have trouble with her impact all season.

"I think the greatest contribution that she left for those kids was the value of playing hard and competing," Rose said.

Ohio State might hope that the underclassmen were paying close attention during its Oct. 20, 2004, win against the Lions. Gordon collected 36 kills on 79 attack attempts in the Buckeyes' five-game win.

Returning sophomores Nicole Brikenriker, Danielle Meyer and Ami Stevens combined for on 22 kills on 66 attempts.

Even in a loss to Penn State on Nov. 17, 2004, Gordon had 21 kills. At the moment, Meyer has picked up most of the slack, as she leads the team in both kills (5.42 per game) and blocks.

One weakness that Ohio State has is its size. Junior Briana McCarthy is the tallest player on the team at 6-foot-2, while Meyer and Stevens are the only other six footers at 6-foot-1.

Brickenriker helps fill out a solid middle for the Buckeyes but is only 5-foot-11. Still, that is the same height that Gordon dominated the Big Ten with last year.

Rose said he would like to take advantage of that weakness through controlling the ball and hitting over the top of Ohio State's blockers. In the Buckeyes' last loss, Illinois senior Rachael VanMeter dominated the match with 25 kills, adding to her Big Ten-leading total.

Penn State freshman Nicole Fawcett, who was this week's Big Ten Player of the Week, will try exploiting the same advantage with her 4.41 kills per game.

A problem that could be posed by relying on this strategy is the Buckeyes' up-tempo offense, which utilizes the talents of junior setter Marisa Main.

Main was a second-team All-American last year, while being the one who successfully distributed the ball to Gordon.

"Sometimes you go into a match and you think; 'Hey, this is what we have to do to be successful,' " Rose said. "And you get into the match and you find out that's not correct at all."

The Penn State coaching staff won't have much time to even formulate a more complicated game plan, anyway. Rose didn't received his Ohio State game film until around 10 a.m. yesterday, and his team boarded its chartered plane west yesterday afternoon.

And the time the game film gets into the hands of Buckeyes coaches isn't a huge concern. The Lions have been on television a little bit more than their rival, and they already have a home court advantage. Even without Gordon, St. John Arena is still not a fun place to play.

"It's a tough place to play, the band is always pretty obnoxious and actively involved in the event," Rose said. "We'll be pressured, I'm sure."