After giving an incredibly spirited effort Northwestern accomplished something it had not done since Sept. 5, 1987, but the end result was not what the Wildcats strived for as they fell to No. 8 Penn State at Rec Hall in University Park, Pa., 3-2 (19-25, 25-22, 18-25, 25-13, 15-11).  After fighting back from one-set deficits in the second and fourth frames, the Wildcats did not have enough left in the tank to knock off the four-time defending national champions in their own building in the decisive fifth.

The Penn State men’s soccer team finished off a three-game home stand on Tuesday night when it faced in-state foe Penn. Goals from Jacob Barron and Julian Cardona helped the Nittany Lions secure the 2-0 in-state win. Watch now as Student U reporter Sophia Perri talks with John Gallagher and coach Bob Warming following the game.

The University of Iowa women’s soccer team shut out Michigan State on Sunday afternoon with a 1-0 final score at the Iowa Soccer Complex. The teams were No. 3 and 4 in the Big Ten standings entering the weekend. Iowa improved to 10-1-2 on the season and 2-1-2 in league play after handing Michigan State its first loss of the conference season.  Iowa’s goal keeper Emily Moran had nine saves in the shutout victory. Dive inside to watch Dan Wallace and coach Ron Rainey talk about the win.

No. 24 Penn State women’s soccer tallied a crucial 1-0 road win at Minnesota’s Robbie Stadium on Sunday. Sophomore striker Maya Hayes scored her nation leading 16th goal and sixth game-winner of the season in the 84th minute to push the Nittany Lions past the Golden Gophers. Penn State (11-3-0, 4-1-0 Big Ten) was struggling to find its scoring touch for over 83 minutes, but a quick combination pass between Carly Niness and Emily Hurd sent Hayes in alone on net as she snuck a ball under the out-stretched arms of Car Parkhill (three saves) for the game-winning goal.

The ninth-ranked Nittany Lions out-blocked 10th-ranked Minnesota on their way to a 3-0 (25-15, 26-24, 25-15) sweep on Saturday. Penn State improved to 10-4 overall and 3-1 in Big Ten action, while Minnesota dropped to 8-5 overall and 1-3 in the conference. Watch the Minnesota-Penn State highlights here and dive inside for a Student U wrap-up of Michigan State’s 3-0 win over Iowa.

The University of Iowa women’s soccer team suffered its first loss of the season, dropping a 1-0 decision against Michigan Friday night at the Iowa Soccer Complex. The Hawkeyes go to 9-1-2 on the season and 1-1-2 in league play.  Senior/junior goalkeeper Haley Kopmeyer made 10 saves in net for her sixth shutout of the season, helping Michigan to its first win in Iowa City since 2005. Dive inside to watch Nkem Ezurike and coach Greg Ryan talk about the win.

Several Big Ten volleyball teams were in action on Friday night including the top-ranked Illini who remained undefeated by beating Indiana 3-1 (15-25, 25-21, 19-25, 14-25). Ninth-ranked Penn State earned a 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-22) victory against conference foe Wisconsin. There was an upset in Columbus as No. 24 Ohio State beat tenth-ranked Minnesota in three sets (23-25, 20-25, 26-28). Meanwhile, the Michigan held off Iowa in a 3-0 sweep (25-22, 25-15, 25-17). Hear from Penn State’s Ariel Scott as she talks about the win and jump inside for much more volleyball video from our Student U crews.

The No. 24 Penn State women’s soccer team overcame a 1-0 halftime deficit with a trio of lightning-strike goals in a 3-1 victory over Ohio State on Thursday at Jeffrey Field. Taylor Schram notched the tying goal 15 seconds after halftime and Kori Chapic headed home the game-winner 1:44 later. Watch the highlights now.

Penn State used Ali Schaefer’s third goal of the weekend to propel the Nittany Lions to a 1-0 win over No. 22 Illinois on Sunday at Jeffrey Field. The Nittany Lions (9-3-0, 2-1-0 Big Ten) used a set piece to settle the score. Christine Nairn played a corner kick to Schaefer, who headed the ball to Whitney Church on the far post. Church moved around two Illini defenders and slotted a short ball to Schaefer who put it away from 15 yards out on the far left post in the 39th minute.

After trailing in the first set, the No. 9 Minnesota recovered and went on to earn a 3-1 win over Northwestern on Sunday afternoon at the Sports Pavilion. With the win, the Golden Gophers (8-3 overall, 1-1 Big Ten) earned their first conference victory of the 2011 campaign. Northwestern dropped to 9-4 overall and 0-2 in conference action. Ashley Wittman, who had 20 kills and 14 digs, led Minnesota in the win. Watch now a video recap from the match below and read the full game story in this post.

The Penn State field hockey team moved to 7-3 and 1-0 in the Big Ten after snapping No. 13 Iowa’s six-game winning streak. The Nittany Lions won the Big Ten Conference opener, 3-0, on Sunday over Iowa. After no score in the first half, aggressive plays by Penn State led to three goals in the second half. Watch our video recap of the Penn State victory now.

The Michigan State volleyball team (12-2, 1-1 Big Ten) posted its first win of conference play with a 3-1 (15-25, 25-14, 25-15, 25-18) victory over Indiana (8-6, 0-2 Big Ten) on Saturday, Sept. 24 in Bloomington, Ind. The win snapped MSU’s road losing streak against Indiana as it tallied its first win over the Hoosiers on the road since Oct. 12, 2007. Senior Kyndra Abron paced the team with 15 kills on the night. Watch as coach Cathy George talks about the win.

The 24th ranked Ohio State women’s volleyball team (10-3) earned a 3-1 (23-25, 25-20, 25-14, 25-18) victory against the Iowa Hawkeyes on Friday night.  After losing the first set, outside hitters Emily Danks and Mari Hole overwhelmed Iowa with their balanced attacks and took back the next three sets.

With Twitter aflutter and a national television audience tuned in, the No. 13 Boilermaker volleyball team swept Michigan State 3-0 Friday night, moving to 12-0 to start a season for the first time since 1985 (13-0). Purdue won the match 25-18, 25-23, 25-18, clinching their third straight conference opener, on Social Media Night at Belin Court.

The No. 9 Golden Gophers controlled the first set against the No. 3 Fighting Illini, but Illinois ended up winning the match 3-2 (20-25, 25-18, 25-22, 20-25, 15-10).