Having already faced five ranked opponents at this point in the season, the Minnesota women's volleyball team is fairly battle-tested.

Two of those top teams were No. 1 Nebraska and No. 2 Penn State, so the Golden Gophers (11-5, 5-1 Big Ten) have already received good insight into the depth of the national talent pool.

Given that, Minnesota head coach Mike Herbert seems fairly convinced that this Penn State team is for real.

"We played what are the two best teams in the land -- Penn State and Nebraska -- and I think both of them are capable of winning a national title," Herbert said.

Nebraska (15-0, 7-0 Big 12) beat No. 23 Minnesota on Sept. 10 in Lincoln, Neb., 3-1, battering it with a heavy offensive onslaught. Nebraska received a combined 54 kills from three key weapons.

This weekend, the Nittany Lions (17-0, 6-0 Big Ten) were able to beat the Golden Gophers, 3-1, in Rec Hall.

The Lions, though, weren't as dominant against Minnesota as the Huskers were.

"I've only seen Penn State and Nebraska once each, so it's not like I know each team very well, but I think Nebraska right now is less given to runs of mistakes," Herbert said. "But Penn State is more physical and probably capable of much more once it matures as a team."

Penn State and Nebraska are two of only four teams in the top 25 that are undefeated. Nebraska received the most first place votes (45) in the most recent AVCA Division-I poll, while Penn State was second (12).

On the year, the Lions have a higher hitting percentage (.343) than the Huskers (.299), and Penn State has faced an arguably more difficult schedule, having already played No. 9 Purdue, No. 10 Texas, No. 13 LSU and No. 16 Ohio State.

The Lions are leading the Big Ten in hitting percentage, assists per game, kills per game, service aces per game and are second in blocks per game in conference matches.

And offensive stalwarts for Penn State have been the left side hitters. With their consistently dominate play this year, outside hitters Megan Hodge and Nicole Fawcett have developed a reputation.

"Their left side tandem is unrivaled, I think, in Division I," Herbert said. "Those kids can control a match if they're both on. And toss in some pretty sleek middle play on offense and their blocking prowess -- that's a winning formula."

"Sleek middle play" would include the hitting and blocking ability of sophomore middle hitters Christa Harmotto and Melissa Walbridge.

Despite the apparent wealth of talent and the high praises of Herbert, Penn State head coach Russ Rose remained characteristically quiet and said there's still a long road for his team to travel. "I respect his opinion, I may not agree," Rose said. "To me, it's nice to be recognized as a team that's playing well and has the tools to be considered for that, but we've got seven more weeks of conference play. That's just conference play. Then three weeks of postseason, if we're lucky."