After two weeks of practice inside the cavernous surroundings of Holuba Hall and the Multi-Sport Facility, the Nittany Lions return to action against elite competition today at the three-day Palm Springs Classic in California.

During the two-week layoff, Penn State head coach Robin Petrini's team has been trying to keep the intensity it displayed 14 days ago when the Lions went 3-1 against three ranked teams.

"We've been staying at game speed, and we've been doing a lot of live hitting, which is what we needed to do," Petrini said. "We worked on a few things defensively that we needed to sure up. But we're ready to get going."

When Penn State takes the field at 1:30 p.m. today against UNLV, the Lions will be sporting some newly received national recognition to go along with their blue and white jerseys.

Penn State has moved into the periphery of the national rankings. After their performance at the Carolina Classic, the Lions picked up nine votes in the USA Today/NCFA Coaches Poll.

But the Lions can't bask in the glory of finally earning some respect, instead, they have to get back to work. Today through Sunday, Penn State will face five teams, three of which are ranked in the top 25 -- No. 7 Oregon St., No. 15 Washington and No. 21 Fresno St. are all in the Lions pool.

While being considered for the national rankings is always nice recognition, Petrini said polls don't mean much to her.

"We're in that group with them [OSU, Wash. And FSU]," Petrini said. "I don't need votes to tell me that we're in that group with them. I feel that we're ready to compete with those teams going into this weekend."

Sophomore center fielder Danielle Kinley is one of seven players making a trip home. Nearly 40 percent of the Penn State roster hails from the Golden State. And considering it's 2500 miles from State College, this is one of the rare occasions when the players will be able to see their entire families.

"I'm really excited to see [my family]," Kinley said. "It's going to be just like the old days, so I'm really excited about that. Just spending time with my family when I can is going to be nice. I don't get to see them that much."

While most of the Lions will be enjoying the homecoming, Petrini wants to make sure her team does not lose focus. A bad showing in Palm Springs could set the Lions back after such great success during their opening tournament.

"When you go out and have a good weekend, you have to go out and have another good weekend," Petrini said. "Because if you go out and have an early good weekend and you turn around and have a bad weekend, it negates the good weekend. So, we need to keep playing our game and compete at the top level."