Sometimes statistics can get a little disturbing.

The first 10 games of conference play were monotonous for the No. 3 Penn State women's volleyball team. Almost as predictable as what kind of character Bruce Willis will play in a movie. The soft-spoken, never past-his-prime tough guy who can't keep himself out of trouble.

Almost freakishly similar to the past, making you think that maybe that guy who said "History is bound to repeat itself" was on to something.

Take it to another level and it's almost believable that comic books are just a recreation of past events in Unbreakable. And slightly believable that Bruce Willis could be a superhero capable of bench pressing more than anyone on the planet.

But as Willis would do, Penn State has kicked the living bejeezus out of the generic bad guy who has a weapon and doesn't know how to use it.

Except for a Sept. 24, five-game match versus No. 16 Purdue, the Lions have swept every Big Ten opponent with a .334 hitting percentage in-conference. This is eerily similar to the 1999 national championship season, where that squad hit .336 on its way to losing only five games.

The 1999 team is strangely symmetrical because it swept its share of opponents, too, never going to another five-game match after Sept. 24 of that year. This year's Lions are still unblemished since "Mean" Joe Greene's birthday. Yes, Mean Joe was one day away from being born a Virgo.

Penn State's bland consistency is nothing about which to be upset if you're a Penn State guru, because it has made it fairly predictable what is going to happen during each and every match.

Almost as easy as it was to see that Bruce Willis would be a ghost at the end of Sixth Sense.

So are these players bound for glory?

If you want instant gratification, Rec Hall is not the place to be. This isn't a home of a two-hour roller-coaster ride, a Die Hard thriller.

The drama is still unfolding, an Armageddon type experience, where shuttle Freedom has just touched down on the asteroid.

The tough opponents are coming to town, including No. 11 Wisconsin on Friday, followed by No. 19 Ohio State and No. 18 Minnesota. John Denver's "I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane" can be put on hold for now.

That's a good thing.

The Badgers, which play in front of the No. 3 crowd in the country, at about 3,846 fans per game, should find Rec Hall a formidable opponent. Penn State's facility may only come in at No. 10 this early in the season, but it's not the size of the crowd that counts. It's the elements.

Half-naked swimmers and other assembled members of Penn State coach Russ Rose's posse create a small-scale war-zone. Willis, or General William Devereaux from The Siege, may have been forced to call Marshall Law on such an environment.

But after they ration out Jimmy Johns hoagies to an anxious audience, willing to serve a ball on to boxes for some free food.

And the best is bound to be the NCAA Regionals in December if Penn State can make it there. Imagine, 7,500 strong in Rec Hall. Will the student police be able to hold the crowd back if they want to tear down the nets? Probably not, if students would even want to do such a thing.

But that's not the craziest thing in the world. Hollywood is planning a Die Hard 4.

Please Lord, spare us all.