Hoosiers look to avenge Penn State victories

Amanda Welter just wants to beat Penn State -- once. In Welter's four years in Bloomington, IU has knocked off the perennial power Nittany Lions in only one game. One game in 19 tries.\nWelter's fellow seniors, Laura Dewitz and JoAnne Amstutz, have witnessed the yearly shellackings Penn State has handed the Hoosiers -- scores like 15-3, 15-6, 15-4.\nNo.13 Penn State (16-4, 5-3 in Big Ten play) has stumbled, sitting two games out of first place in the Big Ten. Big Ten bottom feeder Northwestern shocked the defending national champions earlier this season for its only conference win this season. Now the Hoosiers (12-6, 3-5) figure it's their turn. \n"An upset this year is a lot more foreseeable," Welter said. "I'd like to beat Penn State before I graduate. I'm psyched, I'm pumped to give them their fourth (Big Ten) loss."\nWelter's teammates have similar ideas.\n"In the past it used to be like 'Oh, God, we're playing Penn State,'" Dewitz said. "But they're beatable; we think we can beat anyone." \nThe self-reliant attitude prevalent for coach Katie Weismiller's bunch might have seemed foolish prior to last weekend's sweep of Illinois and Purdue. Before the two wins, five consecutive Big Ten opponents harnessed the Hoosiers -- IU's longest Big Ten losing skid since 1996. \nBut crisp passing, spectacular serving and gutsy play helped the Hoosiers bust up the streak and pick up confidence, thrusting them back into Big Ten contention. \nNow comes their toughest test yet. \nPenn State has lost an unexpected trio of league matches, but the team is back to playing the brand of volleyball that has sent the conference and nation into fits for years. But losses the Lions have suffered, such as the one at Northwestern, have the Hoosiers believing in themselves again. \n"They're in the Top 20 for a reason," Weismiller said. "But, we can play with the top teams. Northwestern beat them, and we beat Northwestern. (Penn State) isn't as dominating as they have been." \nWelter said most of the relatively young Hoosiers probably don't know what to expect from Penn State. Hopping aboard the two-hour, mid-week flight could complicate the situation. This is IU's first mid-week match of the season. IU practiced full tilt Monday, but lightened the load Tuesday in preparation for tonight.\n"We're over our losing streak," freshman Monique Pritz said. "Now, we're on our winning streak. We're not too worried"