The University of Wisconsin volleyball team, after splitting matches against Ohio State and Penn State last weekend, now finds itself in unfamiliar territory — out of first place.

In a battle for certain and undefeated command of the Big Ten conference, the No. 4-ranked Nittany Lions (15-2, 6-0 Big Ten) came into the UW Field House Saturday and easily took care of a No. 8-ranked Wisconsin team that was fresh off a convincing victory the night before over the No. 18-ranked Buckeyes (10-5, 3-3).

"I just think Penn State played a great match," Wisconsin head coach Pete Waite said. "They kept us off-balance just enough to keep pulling away, and we didn't have an answer for the things they were putting at us."

The Badgers (13-2, 5-1) begin their attempt to return to the top of the standings this week against a pair of struggling Big Ten teams, both 1-5 in conference play thus far. The Northwestern Wildcats (10-6) visit the Field House Wednesday, followed by the Indiana Hoosiers (8-10) Friday.

A learning experience: Part of the recovery will have to come from senior captains Sheila Shaw and Aubrey Meierotto. After strong performances against the Buckeyes, both Badgers came up with negative hitting percentages in the Penn State loss.

"They're pretty upset with how they played. I know Penn State keyed on them specifically, and tried to keep their numbers down," Waite said. "They figured if they kept the seniors down, it would affect the rest of the team, and I think it did."

Waite said his team will be able to gain much experience in defeat to the Nittany Lions. A major source of learning will come from Penn State's All-American setter Sam Tortorello, whom Waite believed taught his own setter, Jackie Simpson, a few things.

"I think Jackie set a pretty good match, but there were some times when she might have been a little tight," Waite said. "When you do that, your sets fall a little bit short, and they're not quite where you want them to be, so the hitters are not in as good a rhythm as they should be.

"[For Tortorello,] it wasn't just setting, it was blocking and defense, so she has the all-around game," Waite said. "That's why she's an All-American, and she will be again this year."

The streak continues: Jocelyn Wack, with 20 digs against the Nittany Lions, added to her streak of double-dig matches Saturday. At 46 straight matches, Wack currently holds the longest match streak of 10 or more digs in the country.

By powering the Badgers' defense to 16.55 digs a game, second-best in the Big Ten, and holding UW opponents to a .127 hitting percentage — the fifth-lowest in the country — Wack has developed into one of the best liberos in the NCAA.

However, another impressive Badger streak came to an end in the Wisconsin loss. Serving specialist Megan Mills had hit at least one service ace in each of the last nine UW matches before failing to do so against Penn State. This season, Mills has smacked 14 service aces against only seven errors.

Looking ahead: Playing in the Big Ten, the Badgers have learned that there are no easy matches during the regular season against any team. However, having already played four ranked Big Ten teams this season, UW has to be confident this week against the two teams that are tied for dead last in the conference.

Of course, it doesn't stop Waite or the Badgers from losing focus.

"Northwestern and Indiana are in the lower half of the conference right now, but Northwestern took Ohio State to a … fifth game," Waite said. "They've got some good weapons, so we have to be ready for them. We just have to keep improving our game, and we'll be fine."

The Badgers will enjoy their third weekend at home of the last four, which, according to Waite, continues to aid Wisconsin during the games.

"I always love being home, anytime you get [two weekends at home] back-to-back, it's awesome," Waite said. "With a short week like this, we don't have much preparation time for Wednesday.

"The people that were there [at the Penn State match] saw some great playing, so I think they'll come back and watch more."