If there was a collective statement set out to be made by the Big Ten coaches and players coming into this year’s NCAA Tournament, then the nation is listening after Thursday night. For the first time in history, two Big Ten women’s volleyball teams will play for the NCAA national title.

An unprecedented seven Big Ten teams entered last weekend with dreams of reaching the Final Four. After the last whistle Saturday night, two still remained, as Penn State and Wisconsin advanced to Seattle for the national semifinals.

Coaches, players and fans can all agree that the Big Ten represents the best caliber of volleyball in all the nation. The conference proved that on Sunday, as an unprecedented seven teams reached regional play, setting a new NCAA record.

After an unpredictable year that saw possibly the strongest collection of teams in conference history, the postseason has finally arrived. The Big Ten tied a conference record on Sunday when, for the fifth time in league history, eight teams were selected to the NCAA Volleyball Championship.

The final week of the Big Ten season is upon us, and Penn State has once again claimed at least a share of the Big Ten title. The rest of the conference’s teams, they have secured their plans for the postseason, with the exception of Northwestern.

Two weeks remain in the regular season. Arms are tired, players are sick, teams know each other’s tendencies, and the tournament is on the horizon. The Big Ten title appears to be undecided until the conference’s final weekend and barring shocking upsets, which have been prevalent this season, November 30 should be the long-awaited matchup volleyball fans have been clamoring for.

Penn State may have taken charge of the Big Ten race in recent weeks, but Nebraska made it known this past weekend that the conference crown would not be decided without a fight.

Unpredictable has been the word most commonly uttered to describe this year’s Big Ten women’s volleyball season. Until the past few weeks, there was a genuine sentiment that any team had a chance to pull off a win, regardless of the matchup. However, as so often has been the case in this conference over the past decade, Penn State has asserted itself and begun to separate from the rest of the pack.

Through 10 matches of the Big Ten season, the nation’s deepest and most decorated conference has lived up to its billing. Upsets have been plentiful, top 15 matchups are the norm and contenders have emerged from the pack. The standings have rarely looked the same on any given week, and early-season surprises have struggled to endure the grind of the league.

For years, Big Ten coaches have spouted off clichés about how difficult a grind the conference is week in week out, how there are no off nights, that you’re in for battle in every match, and that there is no margin for error. While accurate in some sense, until the 2013 season, it seemed like a lot of coach speak to pump up the reputation of the league.

A week ago, the Big Ten witnessed an unprecedented five out of six matches reach five sets in one night. The plethora of extended matches indicated the strength of the conference but still seemed rare enough to not be duplicated in the short term.

“The margin for error in our conference is as thin as it has ever been.” Michigan head coach Mark Rosen made that statement heading into last Saturday night, a night that may have represented a first in Big Ten women’s volleyball. All 12 teams were in action, and at the end of the evening, all but two would play nerve-racking 5-set matches.

Conversations with Big Ten coaches have had one common theme heading into the start of conference play: No one has any idea where his/her team, or any of their fellow members, will end up in the title race come the end of November. The Big Ten has been the strongest conference in the nation over the past few seasons, but in a year that has witnessed the league set a new NCAA record for teams in the Top 25 (9), the Big Ten’s coaches are hesitant to make any predictions.

Seven Big Ten teams are headed to the postseason, tied for the most of any conference in the country. Three teams will host first and second round play this weekend including the number one overall seed, the Penn State Nittany Lions. It has been a grueling schedule for every conference team and now we get a chance to see if the parity of the Big Ten has prepared these squads to make deep runs in the NCAA Tournament.

With the Big Ten Title reclaimed by Penn State this past weekend what remains to be decided in the regular season’s final week is whether or not an eighth Big Ten team is headed to the postseason and which conference members will be hosting the first two rounds of the tournament.