Despite what has been said, the way things are working now should suit them just fine in the end.

Despite yearning for a more evenly distributed offense to compliment a tenacious block, this more lopsided assault has had opponents on their heels and at times has looked unstoppable.

Members of the No. 2 Penn State women's volleyball team and head coach Russ Rose have said that the unbalanced manner with which the team has been playing all year will have to change. All think that utilizing the left side as much as they have can only carry them so far and that everyone needs to get going offensively in order to make noise in the NCAAs.

"I think that, to play at the highest level, we're going to need to get more people involved," freshman setter Alisha Glass said after Saturday night's Wisconsin match. "Sometimes [our outside hitters] just can't be stopped. But at some point they're going to be stopped and having an answer to that when it happens and even before it happens just to have middles be able to be comfortable and get in there and get swings when we have people committing on our outsides."

Well, more than half way through the regular season and three weeks into conference play, outside hitters freshman Megan Hodge and sophomore Nicole Fawcett have not been stopped.

Even though the opposition knows what's coming, even though they're aware that they'll see a steady dose of the duo -- usually 60 to 70 percent of the total offense in a given match -- nobody can stop them.

And it's not like the Nittany Lions (17-0, 6-0 Big Ten) haven't been tested. They've already succeeded against a handful of ranked teams, including a dominating effort against No. 9 Purdue in West Lafayette, Ind., and five-game victories on the road against No. 10 Texas and No. 13 LSU.

Coaches from the Big Ten and around the country have lauded their presence on the court, using words like "phenomenal" and "talented" and "special" to describe the pair.

On the year, Hodge and Fawcett account for 54 percent of the team's kills. Each mix their own style to knife through the opposition's block, Hodge using a blend of power and finesse while the 6-foot-4 Fawcett is pure power.

"I think any time you're setting two people 60 percent of the time, you have to be concerned about it," Rose said after the Wisconsin match. "But if they're also getting close to 70 percent of your kills then you feel good about it."

Lately, though, sophomore middle hitter Christa Harmotto has spiced up the offense just a bit. And with the return of 6-foot-5 senior opposite Cassy Salyer, Penn State's offensive arsenal has grown quite a bit. But Hodge and Fawcett will work just fine if they're asked to continue shouldering the load.

As they have to this point in the year, the underclassmen tandem will surely weigh heavily in Penn State's chances at making a serious bid in the NCAAs.

When it comes to making a national championship run, a lot of different factors need to come together at the right time, Rose said. If the pieces don't quite fit this year for the Lions and they drop off in the post-season it can't come as a total shock, but it won't be because of the offensive imbalance.

With the two hitters they have, they'll be OK.