When Darcy Dorton made the decision to come to Happy Valley, she knew road fans would be less than supportive of the Penn State women's volleyball team.
That's just the way the freshman outside hitter wanted it.
In the midst of the Nittany Lions' toughest road stretch of the season -- a four-game trip against three teams who were ranked when it began -- Dorton said the whole team thrives on the atmosphere of away games.
"We're going into an environment that is very anti-Penn State, and the fans are going to want us to perform badly," Dorton said.
"As an opponent, you just want to put on a show and show them what Penn State volleyball is all about."
The Lions have done just that this season with three sweeps of top-25 teams coming on the road - including last weekend's convincing victory at then-No. 5 Minnesota.
Coach Russ Rose's squad will face another road obstacle tonight when the Lions travel to No. 11 Michigan looking to extend their NCAA-record 82-match winning streak.
"It's two different situations," Rose said. "We played at Minnesota and they have over 4,500 people in their facility. Now we play at Michigan at a very small facility that can be a very loud and challenging place to play."
Keen Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich., sold out two days before the match -- marking the third straight season that the Michigan volleyball team has sold out its arena for its match against the Lions. It has done so only one other time in the last three seasons.
Rose said the veteran leadership on his team has done a great job neutralizing noisy road crowds -- something the Lions have gotten used to facing during the season's first two months.
Along with the trip to Minnesota, they have traveled to No. 10 Illinois and No. 20 St. Louis and faced Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
"The schedule is what the schedule is," Rose said.
"We have a number of players that are experienced at playing matches on the road, so they already know what most of the challenges are going to be."
After facing Michigan, the Lions will make the trip west to East Lansing where they will face Michigan State Saturday night at 6:30.
The Spartans started the season 12-0 before losing four of their last six games to drop them out of the top 25.
But despite the Spartans' recent struggles, they have yet to lose a match at Jenison Field House this season.
"The fans can be pretty loud sometimes," junior outside hitter Arielle Wilson said. "But I think we do a good job of just tuning them out and focusing on what's happening on the floor. We've gotten used to the road fans by now."
The Lions haven't dropped a Big Ten road match in Wilson's three years. The last one came in 2006 against Ohio State.
Wilson said she and the upperclassmen have tried to convey their methods for success on the road to the newcomers in hopes of keeping the streak alive.
"I think just the experience we have from the older girls helps the young girls out," Wilson said. "They look to us on the road, and we do what we can as a team to help one another."
