For those who are unaware of the parity thus far in the young Big Ten volleyball season, just ask Penn State coach Russ Rose.

Rose watched from the sidelines last weekend as his Nittany Lions, the defending NCAA champs and preseason Big Ten favorites, went 0-2 in the opening weekend of conference action.

Though the first loss came to top-10 team Wisconsin, the second came against Northwestern, a team the Big Ten coaches picked in the preseason to finish last.

"I've always felt there was this parity, that there wasn't an easy match in the conference, but we seemed to be above it," Rose said, "I don't know if that's the case anymore. I think the fact that Northwestern beat us gives everyone else reason to be alert that Northwestern is not a last place team and they're going to have some success this year."

Entering last weekend's matches, Penn State had not lost a single September game. The 3-0 loss to Wisconsin snapped a 49-match conference winning streak and marked was the first time the Nittany Lions were swept since 1995. Their 0-2 Big Ten start is their worst since joining the conference in 1991.

"There are all kinds of highs and lows and I guess we're just starting in a low," Rose said. "And I'm still not sure we're back on task. We still have some challenges facing us and whether or not we can improve on them will determine the success of our season."

Whether 11th-ranked Penn State is in a state of rebuilding or the rest of the league has raised its level of play, the fact remains that the gap between the top and bottom of the Big Ten is shrinking.

Six conference teams enter this weekend's matches in the USA Today/AVCA Top 25, including sixth-ranked Minnesota (13-0) and No. 19 Ohio State (12-0), two of the nation's five remaining unbeaten teams. The Big Ten's six ranked teams are more than any other conference.

Now the issue becomes whether these teams will begin knocking one another off, similar to the case in Big Ten football.

"It certainly makes it exciting when everybody has a shot, that's for sure," Wisconsin coach Pete Waite said. "That helps us as coaches, knowing that our players have to be up and ready to go for every match. Sometimes, the players will overlook an opponent, but you can't afford to do that now."

Minnesota coach Mike Hebert agrees. Hebert, who coached at Illinois for 13 seasons before moving to Minnesota in 1996, said the Big Ten is far removed from the days when the conference schedule was a relative cakewalk.

"At the beginning, when we had some of our stronger teams at Illinois, there was very little competition within the league," Hebert said. "We would literally be training and preparing for the postseason during the conference schedule. We knew we were going to run into Nebraska or somebody like that, so we would devote about a half hour everyday to the postseason.

"Clearly that's not the case anymore. We actually try to build a softer non-conference schedule because you know in the Big Ten you're going to have to slug it out."

The plot thickens a bit this weekend. In addition to Ohio State's visit to Wisconsin, Minnesota travels to Penn State looking for a school-record 14th consecutive win. But the Nittany Lions have a little streak of their own going, having won an NCAA-record 87 straight matches at home.

The last coach to beat Penn State at home? Minnesota's Hebert, who did so with the Illini in 1995.

"Clearly it's an interesting match," Hebert said. "A lot of people are looking at this as a major collision. But you can't really tell too much from the third match of the conference season. You need to play six or ten matches before you start jockeying position.

"Still, we played them three times last year and they got us in the Sweet 16 and ended our season. I know a lot of our kids are excited about the chance of getting that one back."

Hebert's concern is bringing his team back to the ground after Penn State, with a dangerous match against 10-2 Indiana set for Sunday.

"I'm very worried about that group in Indiana," Hebert said. "If we don't head to Bloomington with a full head of steam, we're going to have some problems."

Last Friday, after Wisconsin's win, Rose, the Penn State coach, hinted at a potential shift of power in the league. He said that Wisconsin was the better team on the floor and that the Badgers, not the Nittany Lions, should be considered conference favorites.

Waite believes it's way to early -- in a way too balanced league -- to make a claim like that.

"It's hard to predict at this point," Waite said. "There are probably three or four teams that have a shot at this title. His compliments are very nice, but I know my team and there are some very, very tough teams we'll have to go through."

Wayne Drehs is a staff writer at ESPN.com.