In a topsy-turvy weekend, the entire national picture in the world of women's volleyball was slightly shaken.

Across the country, No. 6 Stanford upset previously undefeated No. 3 UCLA and No. 4 Southern California. And more locally, Big Ten-conference play has proven treacherous for some of the No. 2 Penn State women's volleyball team's stiffest competition.

Then-No. 16 Ohio State lost to Northwestern, who was hovering around .500, on Saturday and was swept by Illinois on Friday in Champaign, Ill.

And then-No. 9 Purdue lost twice on the road this weekend at Wisconsin on Friday and Minnesota on Saturday. Both teams were previously ranked No. 14 and No. 23, respectively.

"I've always felt that anyone can win at home," Penn State head coach Russ Rose said. "And the top five or six teams find a way to win on the road. If you're one of the top five or six teams, you win on the road."

Penn State is the only remaining team that is undefeated in conference play. But the Nittany Lions (19-0, 8-0 Big Ten) were tested this weekend against Northwestern and Illinois, two teams people might not have expected to push them.

"I've coached in matches where we've lost at both Northwestern and Illinois with teams that were ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the country," Rose said. "Those places are good programs. They have good players -- some players that we recruited to Penn State."

Against Northwestern, who Penn State is 30-8 against all-time, the Lions still managed a sweep. The Wildcats did manage to record 26 points in two games, however. The Lions have only lost once at home to Northwestern.

And against Illinois, Penn State was forced into two "deuce games" -- or games that go over 30 points due to a tie score and the need to win by two points -- in the first and third games.

Against Illinois, Rose said that his team simply didn't play as hard as the Illini, who were all over the court, keeping balls in play.

Last season, the Illini finished seventh in conference play with a 7-13 Big Ten record (16-15 overall). Also, they had no players named to the 2005 all-Big Ten teams. Illinois, however, did share a Big Ten title with the Lions in 1992.

But since 1981, Penn State is 28-6 against Illinois and five of those wins came when the Lions were on the road.

"As far as Big Ten standings go, anything can happen on any given night," sophomore middle hitter Christa Harmotto said. "We could've lost a game to Northwestern and Illinois and that could've turned into a five-game match brawl. I think we always need to be prepared for that and certainly take every team in the Big Ten."

Rose echoed Harmotto's sentiment.

"I know that those teams are always good," he said. "Now, the players and the staff, as they're learning what's happening in the conference, they develop that respect that I have going in. Because you won last time doesn't mean you'll win this time -- there's no correlation."