Penn State's Megan Hodge is the fifth player ever to be a four-time first-team AVCA All-American

The AVCA announced its All-America teams today, with 42 student-athletes (three teams of 14) being recognized as All-Americans (full listing here). Highlighting the announcement is Penn State senior outside hitter Megan Hodge, who became just the fifth player in Division I history to be selected to the AVCA All-America First Team on four occasions. That pantheon of stars features a Stanford trio - Bev Oden (1989-92), Kerri Walsh (1996-99) and Logan Tom (1999-2002) - plus Nebraska's Sarah Pavan (2004-07), and now Hodge.

Here are some other notes about the selections:
• Four other players were tabbed first-team All-Americans for the second year in a row: Cal senior outside hitter Hana Cutura, Penn State senior setter Alisha Glass and the Texas senior duo of setter/hitter Ashley Engle and outside hitter Destinee Hooker.
• PSU had four selections on the first team (Hodge, Glass and juniors Blair Brown and Arielle Wilson), while Texas was the only other school to have more than one.
• Hawai'i outside hitter Kanani Danielson is the only sophomore on the first team.
• Junior libero Ashley Mass - the only primarily defensive player on the first team - gives Iowa State its first-ever AVCA first-team All-American, while junior setter Lexi Zimmerman is Michigan's first first-team honoree.
• Junior setter/hitter Cassidy Lichtman became the 40th Stanford player to be tabbed an AVCA first-team All-American. No school has had more honorees (Nebraska is next at 37).
• No freshman was tabbed an All-American this year (though nine were listed as honorable mention), but UCLA setter Lauren Cook was recognized as the AVCA Freshman of the Year.
• Seniors Brianna Barry (Florida State) and Rachel Rourke (Oregon State) were both tabbed to the All-America second team to become the first AVCA All-Americans in the history of their respective programs.
• Juniors Lindsay Fletemier (Dayton) and Ashley Benson (Indiana) also became the first AVCA All-Americans ever for their schools - having both been third-team selections.

We'll be able to watch many of the players earning All-America recognition on the court this week. Here are the players from the remaining teams that earned AVCA mention:
• PENN STATE - Blair Brown (1st team, Jr., RS/OPP); Alisha Glass (1st, Sr., S); Megan Hodge (1st, Sr., OH); Arielle Wilson (1st, Jr., MB); Darcy Dorton (honorable mention, Fr., OH)
• HAWAI'I - Kanani Danielson (1st team, So., OH); Aneli Cubi-Otineru (3rd, Sr., OH); Amber Kaufman (honorable mention, Sr., MB); Dani Mafua (honorable mention, Jr., S)
• MINNESOTA - Lauren Gibbemeyer (1st team, Jr., MB); Taylor Carico (3rd, Sr., S)
• TEXAS - Ashley Engle (1st team, Sr., S/H); Destinee Hooker (1st, Sr., OH); Juliann Faucette (3rd, Jr., OH)

Tiffany Gaerke and Dayton rallied to with the Atlantic 10 title

The field for the 2009 NCAA Championship - which will be revealed in full on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on ESPNews - is beginning to crystallize, as 20 more teams earned automatic bids over the weekend. In all, we now have 23 automatic qualifiers into the field, with eight more auto bids to be handed out this week (see below for a rundown of when those will be decided). Near the bottom of this post is an updated chart that shows the automatic qualifiers from every conference, but first here are some of the highlights from one of the most-exciting weekends of the season:

• Top-ranked Penn State had its streak of nine consecutive sweeps ended on Friday when Purdue took the opening set by a 31-29 score, but the Nittany Lions rebounded for the victory and then won in three on Saturday at Indiana to secure PSU's seventh consecutive outright Big Ten title. Penn State has now won 94 straight matches.
• No. 15 Florida State swept both Boston College and Maryland to earn its first-ever ACC championship. The Seminoles have won 15 straight matches and are 27-2 on the season and 18-1 in league play.
• The other regular-season title that was determined over the weekend went to Long Beach State - which swept UC Riverside on Friday and then outlasted UC Irvine in five sets on Saturday. The 49ers were down 4-1 in the final set against the Anteaters, but rallied to win the match and their second consecutive Big West crown. The Beach will make its 23rd consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament.
• One of the best matchups in tournament play came in the final of the Atlantic 10 Championship, which saw Dayton rally from losing the first two sets to win in five against No. 20 Saint Louis.
• Louisville came into the weekend in some danger of missing the NCAA tournament for the first time in 12 years. But the Cardinals, playing at home, proceeded to knock of No. 23 Notre Dame - which had been 14-0 in BIG EAST play - in five in the semifinals and then down second-seeded Cincinnati in the final of the league tournament.
• Rice also defeated the top two seeds in its league tournament en route to taking the title on their home court. The Owls defeated top-seeded Southern Miss in the semis and then took down Tulsa in the championship match to win the Conference USA championship
• Albany won all 10 regular-season league matches in America East, sprinting away from the rest of the conference (four teams tied for second with 5-5 records). But the Great Danes were upset in the final of the league tournament, as Binghamton came through with a four-set win.
• Florida International had won 23 consecutive matches - dating back to Sept. 12 - but the Golden Panthers were upset by Middle Tennessee in the championship match of the Sun Belt tournament.
• Another team that had gone unbeaten in league play but couldn't get it done in the tournament was North Dakota State. The Bison were 18-0 in Summit League action during the regular season, but then lost in five sets to third-seeded IPFW in the championship match.
• Furman was 16-0 in the Southern Conference during the regular season, but ended up getting swept by the College of Charleston in the final of the SoCon tournament.
• There were teams that continued their conference dominance through the tournament. Lipscomb was 20-0 in the Atlantic Sun during the regular season and cruised through the league tournament - while Long Island was unbeaten in 16 regular-season Northeast Conference matches and didn't drop a set in the NEC tourney.
• Two conferences - the MEAC and SWAC - featured title matches pitting teams that had been unbeaten in league play against each other. Florida A&M swept Maryland Eastern Shore for its ninth consecutive MEAC title, while Alabama A&M swept Grambling State in the SWAC.
• In non-tournament action, the Pac-10 (again) featured a bunch of great matchups. Two of the best saw No. 6 Stanford top 19th-ranked Arizona and 18th-ranked Oregon beat No. 7 UCLA - both in five sets. In other matches between ranked teams, No. 15 USC swept the Ducks and the Wildcats beat 11th-ranked Cal in four.
• In the SEC, 13th-ranked Florida topped No. 10 Kentucky in four sets, but also lost in four to Tennessee.
• No. 14 Michigan won the premier match in the Big Ten with a sweep of 12th-ranked Minnesota.
• No. 24 Baylor had a tough week, getting swept by second-ranked Texas and No. 9 Nebraska.

A QUICK LOOK AT THIS WEEK'S BIDS
Here is a look at when each of the eight remaining automatic berths will be handed out:

MONDAY - The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship final takes place tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET in Buffalo and will be shown live on ESPNU. It features second-seeded Niagara (22-8, 14-4; RPI: 162) facing fourth-seeded Marist (18-12, 11-7; RPI: 219) - which upset the league's regular-season champion, Fairfield, in the semifinals.
TUESDAY - The Colonial Athletic Association Championship final will be played at 7 p.m. ET in Richmond, Va.
WEDNESDAY - No. 3 Hawai'i will look to capture the Western Athletic Conference Championship, as the title match begins at 6:30 p.m. MT in Las Vegas. Also, the Southeastern Conference champion will be determined - and it's assured that Florida's NCAA-record streak of 18 consecutive titles will be ended. No. 17 LSU already has clinched a share of the SEC crown, having completed league play with an 18-2 mark. But 10th-ranked Kentucky can grab a share of the title with a win at Tennessee (which beat UK in four sets in Lexington on Oct. 21) on Wednesday - and the Wildcats would earn the league's automatic bid due to a season sweep of the Tigers. No. 2 Texas also can clinch the Big 12 Conference title and automatic bid with a victory at Oklahoma (UT can also do so with a win on Saturday against Kansas). Also, No. 4 Washington plays host to Oregon State. A win by the Huskies would pull them into a tie for first in the Pac-10, with Stanford.
FRIDAY - The Pac-10 crown will be decided, and the two top contenders both have tough home matches to finish the regular season. Fourth-ranked Washington - which starts the week at 12-4 in league play - plays host to No. 18 Oregon, while sixth-ranked Stanford (13-4 in the Pac-10) welcomes archrival and 11th-ranked Cal.
SATURDAY - The final two automatic bids will be handed out. No. 20 Northern Iowa - which went unbeaten in league play - hopes to be in the Missouri Valley Conference Championship final that starts at 3 p.m. CT and will be televised on a host of networks. The final automatic qualifier will be the Big Sky Conference champion, which will be determined in the tournament final that begins at 7 p.m. PT in Cheney, Wash.
SUNDAY - The entire 64-team bracket for the 2009 NCAA Championship will be revealed at 3 p.m. ET on ESPNews.

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Conference	Automatic Qualifier
America East	Binghamton (15-15, 5-5; RPI: 180) Tournament Champion Tournament Central
Atlantic Coast	No. 14 Florida State (27-2, 18-1; RPI: 3) Regular-Season Champion
Atlantic Sun	Lipscomb (28-3, 20-0; RPI: 34) Tournament Champion Tournament Central
Atlantic 10	No. 24 Dayton (28-3, 14-1; RPI: 23) Tournament Champion Tournament Central
Big East	Louisville (20-10, 10-4; RPI: 38) Tournament Champion Tournament Central
Big Sky	Tournament Champion Nov. 27-28 - Cheney, WA Final: Saturday, 7 p.m. PT Tournament Central Regular-Season Champ: Portland State (14-2)
Big South	Coastal Carolina (20-13, 10-6; RPI: 133) Tournament Champion Tournament Central
Big Ten	No. 1 Penn State (30-, 18-0; RPI: 2) Regular-Season Champion
Big 12	Regular-Season Champion Current Leaders: No. 2 Texas, 17-1 (2 left) No. 7 Iowa State, 16-3 (1 left)
Big West	Long Beach State (19-7, 12-4; RPI: 34) Regular-Season Champion
Colonial Athletic	Tournament Champion Nov. 23-24 - Richmond, VA Final: Tuesday, 7 p.m. ET (Free Video) Tournament Central Regular-Season Champ: VCU & Delaware (12-2)
Conference USA	Rice (22-8, 11-5; RPI: 39) Tournament Champion Tournament Central
Horizon League	Milwaukee (16-14, 10-6; RPI: 139 Tournament Champion Tournament Central
Ivy Group	Penn (22-5, 13-1; RPI: 91) Regular-Season Champion
Metro Atlantic Athletic	Tournament Champion Nov. 22-23 - Buffalo, NY Final: Monday, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPNU) Tournament Central Regular-Season Champ: Fairfield (16-2)
Mid-American	Ohio (26-5, 15-1; RPI: 24) Tournament Champion Tournament Central
Mid-Eastern Athletic	Florida A&M (17-8, 8-0; RPI: 138) Tournament Champion Tournament Central
Missouri Valley	Tournament Champion Nov. 26-28 - Omaha, NE Final: Saturday, 3:07 p.m. CT (FSN, Fox College Sports, CSN, Metro Sports, DirecTV Channel 671, Dish Channel 418) Tournament Central Regular-Season Champ: No. 20 Northern Iowa (18-0)
Mountain West	No. 23 Colorado State (23-4, 15-1; RPI: 18) Regular-Season Champion
Northeast	Long Island (21-13, 16-0; RPI: 190) Tournament Champion Tournament Central
Ohio Valley	Jacksonville State (26-6, 17-1; RPI: 82) Tournament Champion Tournament Central
Pacific-10	Regular-Season Champion Current Leaders: No. 6 Stanford, 13-4 (1 left) No. 4 Washington, 12-4 (2 left) No. 9 UCLA, 11-5 (2 left)
Patriot	Army (26-5, 12-2; RPI: 103) Tournament Champion Tournament Central
Southeastern	Regular-Season Champion Current Leaders: No. 17 LSU, 18-2 (0 left) No. 10 Kentucky, 17-2 (1 left)
Southern	College of Charleston (18-12, 12-4; RPI: 95) Tournament Champion Tournament Central
Southland	Texas State (22-12, 13-3; RPI: 108) Tournament Champion Tournament Central
Southwestern Athletic	Alabama A&M (22-12, 8-0; RPI: 229) Tournament Champion Tournament Central
Summit	IPFW (20-11, 11-7; RPI: 128) Tournament Champion Tournament Central
Sun Belt	Middle Tennessee (25-8, 15-2; RPI: 30) Tournament Champion Tournament Central
West Coast	No. 21 Saint Mary's (21-4, 13-1; RPI: 35) Regular-Season Champion
Western Athletic	Tournament Champion Nov. 23-25 - Las Vegas, NV Final: Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. MT (ESPNU) Tournament Central Regular-Season Champ: No. 3 Hawai'i (26-2, 16-0)

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TODAY'S SCOREBOARD WATCH
MAAC Final: Niagara vs. Marist, 7:30 p.m. ET - TV: ESPNU | Live Stats

Lauren Williams and USC posted a pair of big victories

Top-ranked Penn State rose to the challenge again on Friday night, sweeping No. 5 Illinois 25-20, 27-25, 25-15 at home in front of 4,163 fans. Blair Brown pounded 17 kills on .538 hitting ans senior Alisha Glass set the Nittany Lions to a .350 team hitting mark. Illinois was led by Laura DeBruler, who had 18 kills on .421 hitting. PSU then swept Northwestern on Saturday for its 92nd consecutive win - which ties the North Carolina women's soccer team's streak from 1990-94 as the second longest in NCAA Division I history in any sport. The NCAA record is 137 consecutive wins, which was done by the Miami men's tennis team from 1957-64.

One of the biggest winners from last week was 17th-ranked USC - which came into the weekend on a three-match losing streak and having won just two of its last nine. But the Women of Troy got a pair of big wins, first outlasting No. 4 Washington in five sets (25-18, 24-26, 22-25, 25-21, 15-13) on Friday and then beating 25th-ranked Washington State 24-26, 25-18, 28-26, 25-16 the following day. Sophomore outside hitter Alex Jupiter (21 kills) led a quartet of players with 14+ kills against the Huskies, while sophomore middle blocker Lauren Williams paced all players with 19 kills and no errors on .559 hitting vs. WSU. Washington sophomore middle blocker Lauren Barfield was in on 11 blocks in Friday's match.

Washington was able to rebound on Saturday for a road sweep (25-19, 25-18, 25-21) of sixth-ranked UCLA in front of 2,569 fans. Senior libero Tamari Miyashiro (23 digs), junior setter Jenna Hagglund (18 digs) and Barfield (7 blocks) led a UW defense that held UCLA to .101 hitting and didn't see a Bruin post more than seven kills. UW junior outside hitter Kindra Carlson had 18 kills to lead all players, while UCLA sophomore libero Lainey Gera finished with 22 digs.

UCLA had moved briefly into first place in the Pac-10 with a 25-23, 25-14, 23-25, 25-23 victory against Washington State on Friday, the Bruins' seventh straight win. Senior outside hitter Kaitlin Sather led UCLA with 19 kills in the match, while Gera added 26 digs. The Bruins, at 10-4 in league play, now stand one-half game behind both Washington and Stanford at the top of the standings. The seventh-ranked Cardinal notched a big win on Friday, beating No. 16 Oregon 25-23, 25-16, 25-23 in front of 2,712. Freshman Karissa Cook and junior Cassidy Lichtman set Stanford to a .378 hitting mark, and Lichtman also led all players with 16 kills on .419 hitting. No. 12 California beat the Ducks on Saturday in four (25-21, 25-21, 23-25, 25-16). Senior outside hitter Hana Cutura posted 28 kills on .442 hitting and 10 digs for the Bears, while junior Carli Lloyd's offense hit .341.

In a clash of Southeastern Conference titans, 19th-ranked LSU knocked off No. 10 Florida in four sets (24-26, 25-23, 25-19, 25-17) on Friday in front of 2,875 fans in Gainesville. Marina Skender led all players with 20 kills, while Brittnee Cooper added 16 on 26 attempts (.500) as the Tigers swept the Gators for the first time since 1991.

The top two teams in the West Coast Conference hooked up on Saturday in Moraga, Calif., with No. 23 Saint Mary's eventually prevailing over 25th-ranked San Diego in five sets (25-18, 25-19, 20-25, 17-25, 15-10). Junior Kapua Kamana'o and redshirt freshman Missy White and set the Gaels to a .342 attack percentage, and junior middle blocker Shannon Lowell posted 23 kills on .381 hitting to help SMC clinch the WCC regular-season title for the first time. Junior Kelsi Myers' USD attack also was prolific, with a .303 hitting mark.

There was just a single instance of an unranked team knocking off a ranked one last week. That occurred on Saturday in Lawrence, Kan., where Kansas beat Baylor 25-18, 19-25, 25-20, 25-20. The Jayhawks got 19 kills from junior outside hitter Karina Garlington, as well as 16 from sophomore outside hitter Allison Mayfield.

No. 14 Michigan was extended to fifth sets against unranked opponents in both of its matches, but the Wolverines ended up prevailing against Purdue on Friday (18-16 in the fifth after saving a match point) and vs. Indiana on Sunday (15-11 in the fifth).

No. 22 Northern Iowa also needed five sets against Wichita State on Saturday, but the Panthers eventually prevailed, 25-15, 19-25, 25-19, 20-25, 15-9, for their 24th consecutive victory. The win clinched the regular-season Missouri Valley Conference crown for UNI.

Elsewhere, No. 3 Hawai'i, the regular-season WAC champion, swept Boise State and Idaho to run its winning streak to 21. In the BIG EAST, 24th-ranked Notre Dame topped Georgetown and USF to finish 14-0 in league play - its seventh unbeaten mark in BIG EAST action since joining the conference in 1995. No. 20 Saint Louis beat Rhode Island and Temple to finish 14-1 in Atlantic 10 play and share the regular-season league title with Dayton.

Cassie Robbins and Washington State took part in the Attacking Breat Cancer Pink Campaign and knocked off Washington

The biggest upset of the weekend came on Friday in Pullman, as Washington State - the first team outside of the Top 25 - snapped a 12-match losing streak against its biggest rival and registered an 18-25, 25-22, 25-21, 25-22 victory over No. 4 Washington in front of 2,724 fans. Meagan Ganzer led the Cougars with 15 kills, while three players in the match - UW's Tamari Miyashiro (28) and the WSU pair of Oceana Bush (23) and Jackie Albright (22) - had 20+ digs.

The showdown in the SEC didn't disappoint, as seventh-ranked Kentucky eventually prevailed in five (25-23, 19-25, 16-25, 25-15) over No. 20 LSU on Saturday. Sarah Mendoza paced UK with 21 kills and 12 digs, while LSU had 17 blocks in the losing effort - with Lauren DeGirolamo and Brittnee Cooper taking part in nine each.

Two of the elite teams in the Big Ten also matched up on Saturday, and No. 9 Minnesota pulled out a four-set (20-25, 25-19, 25-22, 25-10) win over 11th-ranked Michigan in front of a crowd of 7,547. Taylor Carico set the Gophers to a .298 hitting mark, with Tabitha Love leading the attack with 29 kills on .455 hitting. Minnesota had a big advantage at the net, outblocking the Wolverines 15-5 - which was a big part of U-M hitting just .148.

No. 12 Oregon headed to Los Angeles for the weekend and could not come away with a victory. On Friday, it was 13th-ranked UCLA earning a 26-24, 25-18, 22-25, 22-25, 15-9 triumph over the Ducks. Amanda Gil had 14 kills on .345 hitting and also was in on 10 of the Bruins' 18.5 blocks. Sonja Newcombe had 22 kills and 23 digs for UO in the losing effort. Newcombe had 21 kills and 10 digs in just three sets the following afternoon, but the Ducks were edged in each of those frames in a 26-24, 25-23, 30-28 defeat at the hands of No. 18 USC. Alex Jupiter led the Women of Troy with 19 kills, while Alli Hillgren had 20 digs.

No. 16 Arizona suffered a similar fate to Oregon - as the Wildcats returned home with a pair of losses against two of the best teams in the Pac-10. The Wildcats lost in four (25-19, 21-25, 25-16, 25-16) against California on Friday. That match featured one of the top individual performances of the weekend, as Cal's Hana Cutura posted 31 kills on just 47 swings for a .638 hitting mark - and also added 11 digs. Junior setter Carli Lloyd helped the Bears to a .331 attack percentage as a team. On Sunday, sixth-ranked Stanford swept Arizona 25-22, 25-21, 25-23 in front of 2,131 fans. The Cardinal had six service aces in the match and got 11 kills on .429 hitting from Janet Okogbaa. - while Arizona's Whitney Dosty led all players with 15 kills.

There were two other instances of unranked teams pulling off upsets. The first came on Thursday, as TCU cooled off the newest member of the Top 25 with a 25-23, 25-22, 25-10 win against 25th-ranked Colorado State in front of a record crowd of 1,875 in Fort Worth. TCU got 11 kills from Christy Hudson, and Megan Munce had three of the Horned Frogs' seven aces, as TCU held the Rams to a .097 hitting mark and snapped CSU's 12-match winning streak.

On Friday, UC Santa Barbara upset 19th-ranked UC Irvine in a five-set decision (14-25, 25-22, 17-25, 25-22, 19-17) on the road. The Gauchos got 28 kills and 13 digs from Rebecca Saraceno, as well as 26 digs from Chelsey Lowe on the way to improving to 4-1 against ranked teams this season - and sweeping the season series with the Anteaters. UCI held statistical advantages in just about every category - including kills, hitting percentage, aces, digs and blocks - but came up short in the end despite 22 kills from Kari Pestolesi.

Both undefeated teams remained that way without much difficulty. Top-ranked Penn State beat Indiana 25-19, 25-13, 25-17 on Friday and dominated Purdue 25-13, 25-15, 25-12 the following day. Megan Hodge had 16 kills on .538 hitting against the Hoosiers, while Alisha Glass set the Lions to a .362 team mark against IU and a .438 percentage vs. the Boilermakers. No. 2 Texas beat Colorado 25-23, 25-12, 25-15 on Saturday. Michelle Kocher set the Longhorns to a .443 hitting percentage, and Destinee Hooker had six service aces for UT.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
A Look Back at Yesterday's Highlights
Five nationally-ranked teams played last night and all came through with victories - though a few were somewhat challenged. Topping that group was No. 1 Penn State, which dropped a set for the second time in less than a week but eventually won in four (25-17, 23-25, 25-15, 25-13) against Ohio State with senior Alisha Glass setting the Lions to a .353 mark. No. 6 Florida lost the first set at South Carolina but rallied for a 4-26, 25-19, 25-23, 25-15 victory. Sophomore right-side/setter Kelly Murphy became the first Division I player to post four triple-doubles this season, with 12 kills, 25 assists and 17 digs.

Victoria Henson posted 24 kills, 14 digs and six blocks to help No. 14 Iowa State gain a 25-23, 22-25, 25-10, 25-21 win at Oklahoma. Elsewhere in the Big 12, senior Taylor Barnes led No. 17 Baylor to a .309 hitting mark and a 25-19, 25-23, 25-20 win at Texas Tech. No. 9 Nebraska swept Kansas 25-20, 25-20, 25-21 thanks to 15 kills on .448 hitting from Hannah Werth.

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WEEKEND PREVIEW
• The biggest test of the season thus far is on the horizon for top-ranked Penn State which has dropped two sets in the last three matches. The Nittany Lions will be at No. 5 Minnesota on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT on the Big Ten Network.
• The Gophers are 13-3 overall and have registered sweeps in all four of their Big Ten contests. PSU has won nine straight vs. Minnesota, including four consecutive three-set decisions.
• The Pac-10 has a record eight teams in the national rankings this week, and of the seven matches between ranked teams set for this weekend, all but one features Pac-10 teams.
• No. 3 Washington - the only DI team that has yet to lose a set - has another tough weekend ahead, as the Cougars will head to the Bay Area for matches against No. 15 California and seventh-ranked Stanford. The Huskies are the only team that is unbeaten in Pac-10 play, at 4-0.
• No. 25 Washington State also heads to the Bay Area and will face No. 7 Stanford on Friday and 15th-ranked Cal on Saturday. The Cougars - who are ranked for the first time in more than six years - are 13-1 overall and in second place in the Pac-10 standings at 3-1. Stanford is one-half game back at 2-1 in league play, while every other team already has been beaten at least twice in conference action.
• Saturday's match in Palo Alto pits the teams that have taken the top two spots in the Pac-10 standings in each of the last five years. Stanford edged out Washington for the league title in each of the last three seasons after the Huskies finished first ahead of the Cardinal in both 2004 and '05.
• In other Pac-10 activity between ranked teams, No. 13 USC is at No. 16 UCLA on Friday and seventh-ranked Oregon plays on the road against No. 22 Arizona on Saturday.
• Second-ranked Texas plays host to Oklahoma on Saturday. The Sooners beat the Longhorns in five in the last match between the schools - which stands as the last tim UT was beaten at home. Texas does hold a 33-2 advantage in the all-time series.
• Another big match in the Big 12 pits No. 17 Baylor against Texas A&M, which is the first team outside of the top 25.
• No. 12 Illinois has a big weekend, as it welcomes a pair of teams that are receiving votes in the poll this week: Indiana and Purdue.
• Elsewhere, No. 19 Florida State hits the road to face the only team unbeaten in ACC action, Duke, and the two remaining unbeatens in BIG EAST play - Notre Dame and Cincinnati - play at Notre Dame.

TODAY'S SCOREBOARD WATCH
Complete Top 25 and TV Schedule (All Times Eastern)
New Mexico at BYU, 9 p.m. - TV: BYU Television | Live Stats
Wyoming at Air Force, 9:30 p.m. - TV: The Mtn. | Free Video | Live Stats
San Francisco at No. 24 San Diego, 10 p.m. - Free Video | Live Stats
Nevada at No. 4 Hawai'I, 1 a.m. - TV: KFVE | Free Audio | Live Stats

Indiana's Ashley Benson had 21 kills vs. Purdue

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
A Look Back at Last Night's Highlights
We were treated to a pair of five-set nationally-televised matches last night that produced some exciting volleyball. Oklahoma honored the memory of Javi Restrepo, the son of OU head coach Santiago Restrepo (read more here), and the Sooners - who entered the match having dropped 23 in a row against Nebraska - came out firing en route to taking the opening set 25-17. Eventually, though, it was sophomore middle blocker Brooke Delano and freshman Hannah Werth who keyed a run in the fifth set that allowed the 10th-ranked Huskers to claim a 17-25, 26-24, 25-15, 25-27, 15-10 triumph. Werth led all players with 17 kills, while junior libero Kayla Banwarth had 26 digs.

Junior middle blocker Ashley Benson and freshman outside hitter Jordan Haverly led Indiana to a 25-22, 25-17, 17-25, 17-25, 15-13 victory at Purdue (which was just three spots outside of the Top 25 this week). Benson had a match-high 21 kills on .349 hitting, while Haverly posted 19 kills on .395 to help the Hoosiers to their first road win over their biggest rival since 2002.

No. 2 Texas also kept rolling with a 28-26, 25-20, 25-21 win against the second team outside of the rankings, Texas A&M. Senior outside hitter Destinee Hooker had 17 kills on .469 hitting and 12 digs to lead the Longhorns. The Aggies did hold a 5.5-4 edge in blocks against Texas, which came into the match leading Division I in the category.

WHAT'S IN STORE
This Week's Top Matchups
The weekend figures to have several more interesting matchups. Tomorrow we'll have a more-detailed listing of the big matches (including ways to follow them), but below are some notes about the action that looms.

• A clash of the titans in the SEC is set for Friday evening, as No. 5 Florida (10-1, 4-0 SEC) and 15th-ranked Kentucky (13-1, 3-0) - the SEC's only two ranked teams and the only squads still unbeaten in its league play - will play in Gainesville. It also is Gators GO GREEN Night.
• Kentucky - sporting its highest national ranking since 1993 - rallied for a five-set victory at home against Florida last November to snap a 38-match winning streak by the Gators in the series. UK has lost 19 straight at Florida, with the last Wildcats' victory coming in 1989.
• The Pac-10 - which has seven of its members ranked in the top 18 this week and the other three all receiving votes - is, not surprisingly, rife with great matchups. The Los Angeles area will play host to four clashes of ranked teams, as No. 9 California (8-3, 1-0) and 11th-ranked Stanford (7-4, 0-1) head South to face 13th-ranked USC (12-2, 1-1) and No. 16 UCLA (11-4, 1-1). The Bears and Trojans play on Friday night at the same time that the Bruins try to snap a 16-match skid against the Cardinal. On Saturday evening, it will be Cal-UCLA and Stanford-USC.
• No. 12 Illinois (9-2, 1-1) - which was swept by Penn State to wind up last weekend - faces a difficult road trip. The Fighting Illini will be at No. 23 Michigan State (12-2, 0-2) on Friday and at sixth-ranked Michigan (14-1, 2-0) on Saturday.
• No. 3 Washington (12-0, 2-0) figures to face the toughest test among the unbeatens, as the Huskies welcome Arizona State (11-3, 1-1) - which is receiving votes - on Friday and 18th-ranked Arizona (12-1, 1-1) on Saturday.
• Top-ranked Penn State (14-0, 2-0) looks to extend its NCAA-record 78-match winning streak with home matches against Iowa (9-5, 1-1) and Wisconsin (5-6, 0-2).
• Second-ranked Texas (10-0, 5-0) hits the road to face Kansas State (6-7, 0-3) on Friday.
• UC Santa Barbara (11-2, 2-0) - which turned in a thrilling come-from-behind upset of UC Irvine last weekend and is now the first team outside of the Top 25 - has a tough road trip ahead. The Gauchos will play at No. 22 Long Beach State (8-3, 1-0) on Friday and then take on Cal State Fullerton (9-5, 0-1) - which upset UCLA a few weeks ago - on Saturday.
• Two of the most-efficient hitters in the country will go against each other on Sunday, as Indiana junior Ashley Benson - who came into the week ranking ninth nationally in hitting percentage (.427) - will face Minnesota junior Lauren Gibbemeyer (6th, .446) in Bloomington. Both teams also rank among the national top 20 in team blocking; Minnesota (11-3, 2-0) is 10th (2.88), while IU (13-4, 2-1) is 19th (2.69). The Gophers open the weekend with a road match against Purdue (9-5, 1-2).
• Sophomore Darlene Ramdin of St. John's (8-10, 1-1) - who ranks third in Division I with 4.93 kills per set - will face a challenge on Sunday against USF (9-3, 2-0). The Bulls are seventh in the nation in team blocking (2.93 per set).
• A couple other noteworthy matches: seventh-ranked Oregon (11-1, 1-1) heads to Oregon State (9-5, 0-2) on Friday and No. 20 San Diego (8-3, 0-0) is at Pepperdine (7-5, 0-0) on Saturday.

TODAY'S SCOREBOARD WATCH
Complete Top 25 and TV Schedule, Plus Some Other Big Matches (All Times Eastern)
No. 4 Hawai'i at Louisiana Tech, 8 p.m. - Watch Free | Live Stats
Utah at UNLV, 9:30 p.m. - TV: The Mtn. | Live Stats
No. 20 San Diego at Loyola Marymount, 10 p.m. - Watch Free | Live Stats
Saint Mary's at Pepperdine, 10 p.m. - Live Stats

Penn State's Arielle Wilson Courtesy Penn State Athletic Communications

In some ways, this past weekend crystallized something that had been becoming apparent throughout the entire non-conference season: there are three teams - Penn State, Texas and Washington - in college volleyball that appear to be standing above the rest. After all, the weekend began with eight unbeaten teams remaining in Division I, but wound up with just three - the schools that have held the top three positions in the AVCA Top 25 for the last four weeks. All of them faced difficult road matchups last weekend - and each appeared to barely break a sweat en route to victory. Check back later this week for a comparison of these teams. But for now, let's take a look at what they did over the weekend, as well as some other noteworthy results.

Top-ranked Penn State faced a nationally-ranked team for just the second time this season on Saturday evening (and the first provided somewhat of a scare to the Nittany Lions who - gasp! - nearly dropped a set before recovering for a 29-27, 25-18, 25-14 win at then-No. 20 Saint Louis during the season's opening weekend). But PSU cut through 15th-ranked Illinois with ease in a 25-11, 25-17, 25-17 decision. Senior setter and two-time All-American Alisha Glass led her offense to 48 kills - spread among just four players - on a .451 attack percentage. Freshman Darcy Dorton had a team-high 14 kills on .545 hitting, while junior middle blocker Arielle Wilson converted 13 kills on just 16 attempts (.750) and senior outside hitter Megan Hodge - a three-time first-team All-American and the Most Outstanding Player in both of the last two NCAA Championships - finished with 12 kills and 10 digs. The Lions also limited Illinois to .147 hitting and had 16 more digs than the Illini - who got 16 kills from sophomore outside hitter Michelle Bartsch. PSU has won 78 consecutive matches, an NCAA record.

Second-ranked Texas dealt No. 6 Nebraska a rare home defeat on Saturday afternoon, by scores of 25-22, 18-25, 25-17, 25-17. It ended the Cornhuskers' 82-match winning streak at the NU Coliseum (Nebraska's NCAA-record overall home winning streak was snapped at 90 by UCLA earlier this month at the Devaney Center). UT also became the first Big 12 team to win in Lincoln since Missouri did so in 2003 (ending a 56-match streak) and earned its first victory at Nebraska since 1988. Senior outside hitter and two-time All-American Destinee Hooker led the way with 15 kills on .308 hitting to go with 12 digs. The Longhorns held Nebraska to a .132 hitting mark in the match. Eight of Texas' nine victories this season have come against ranked teams.

No. 3 Washington posted its third sweep of a top-10 team this season with a 25-18, 26-24, 25-19 victory against seventh-ranked Oregon in a battle of unbeatens on Friday evening. Junior outside hitter Kindra Carlson led the Huskies with 13 kills, while senior libero Tamari Miyashiro - who became UW's all-time leader in digs later in the weekend - had 18 digs to help hold Oregon to .143 hitting. Washington also served up 11 aces (and only four errors) against a Ducks team that had been leading Division I in service aces per set. Oregon did get 17 kills and 11 digs from senior outside hitter Sonja Newcombe. The Huskies have yet to drop a set in 12 matches this season.

In another big matchup, senior All-America outside hitter Hana Cutura had 21 kills to lead No. 12 California past 10th-ranked Stanford in five sets (19-25, 25-20, 20-25, 25-19, 15-12) in front of 4,189 fans. Junior All-America outside hitter Alix Klineman had 23 for the Cardinal, which also got a triple-double (14 kills, 16 assists, 11 digs) from junior Cassidy Licthman.

UCSB's Rebecca Saraceno Courtesy UC Santa Barbara Athletic Communications

Pac-10 parity also was on display in Arizona, as No. 13 USC, No. 14 UCLA, No. 19 Arizona and Arizona State all went 1-1. Junior outside hitter Sarah Reaves (15 kills, 10 digs) led ASU to a 25-16, 25-22, 25-22 upset of UCLA, but the Bruins would rebound for a four-set road victory (22-25, 27-25, 25-14, 25-13) at Arizona. Junior outside hitter Dicey McGraw had 20 kills and 15 digs for UCLA in the latter contest. The Wildcats posted a 25-21, 25-23, 22-25, 25-21 triumph against USC, with junior outside hitter Tiffany Owens registering 16 kills and 13 digs. The Women of Troy then got a huge night from sophomore outside hitter Alex Jupiter - who had 31 kills on .433 hitting and 20 digs - to beat the Sun Devils 25-22, 21-25, 25-21, 25-22. Reaves had 20 kills and 10 digs in that match.

In the Big Ten, No. 16 Michigan State dropped a pair of matches in the Hoosier State after opening the season with 12 straight wins. Purdue beat the Spartans 25-14, 25-21, 19-25, 25-21 on Friday, while Indiana topped MSU 25-19, 18-25, 25-23, 25-18 the following night, with IU junior middle blocker Ashley Benson leading all players with 14 kills on .545 hitting. The Boilermakers almost made it a pair of upsets, but ended up falling in five against No. 8 Michigan, 17-25, 25-23, 15-25, 25-20, 15-13. Senior outside hitter Juliana Paz led the Wolverines with 18 kills.

No. 20 Wichita State had won 36 straight regular-season matches and 38 in a row on the road against Missouri Valley Conference foes before Missouri State prevailed 22-25, 25-18, 22-25, 25-18, 15-6 on Friday evening. Senior outside hitter Addie Foley had 18 kills and 15 digs to lead the Bears, while senior outside hitter Emily Stockman posted 27 kills and 12 digs in the losing effort for WSU.

UC Santa Barbara turned in the rally of the weekend, as the Gauchos were down two sets and 19-11 in the third before coming back for a 23-25, 27-29, 27-25, 25-16, 15-9 upset victory against No. 21 UC Irvine on Saturday. Senior outside hitter Rebecca Saraceno led UCSB's effort with 29 kills and 15 digs.