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Opening weekend left no doubt: NCAA volleyball is back. Well start off with a very noteworthy upset, and then work our way through other highlights of the first weekend of play.1. Tar Heel triumphThese things just dont happen to Penn State in volleyball. The Nittany Lions very rarely lose at home, and almost never to a non-conference opponent. They also dont let matches get away when theyve all but got a victory nailed down.But thats what makes sports endlessly fascinating, right? Seven-time NCAA champion Penn State was on the verge of closing out North Carolina in four sets Saturday. But trailing 23-18, the Tar Heels rallied for seven consecutive points to take the set. Then they won the fifth set 15-9, and won the Penn State Classic. Talk about a trophy that never expected to take an airplane trip.How unusual was this? It was just the 15th time -- ever -- that a non-conference volleyball opponent has won at Penn States Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions are now 316-15 in non-league matches there, and 580-34 overall.If anyone knew the historical significance, it was Tar Heels coach Joe Sagula, in his 27th year at North Carolina.This is going to be one that we will remember for a long time, Sagula said.The Tar Heels, whove won 12 ACC titles (most recently in 2014), were picked to win the league this year. Theyve consistently been a good program, albeit one with a losing overall record, 13-17, in the NCAA tournament. They had a tough end to last season, losing at home to Creighton in the NCAAs second round.But with four starters and their libero back, they had high hopes this season, and it couldnt have begun any better. North Carolina got 18 kills from sophomore Taylor Leath, who is from the State College, Pennsylvania, area and grew up watching the Nittany Lions. (By the way, shes also one of four players on the Tar Heels roster with the first name of Taylor. They must use nicknames a lot with this squad.).UNC freshman Julia Scoles made a great college debut, winning tournament MVP honors by compiling 30 kills and 33 digs in the Tar Heels three victories in State College. They swept Georgia Southern and West Virginia in their first two matches. North Carolina is now No. 12 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, with Penn State at No. 13.Next up for North Carolina? Just a friendly neighborhood matchup Thursday with archrival Duke (6:30 p.m. ET, Watch ESPN.)The loss will no doubt motivate Penn State, which faces Colorado and Stanford this weekend in the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge in Boulder, Colorado.2. USC goes 0-3Speaking of the Pac-12, traditional conference power Southern Cal had a very rough start. The Trojans, who were tied for seventh with Washington in the preseason poll, lost to Marquette, Santa Clara and UC Irvine at home in the Galen Center. That sent the Trojans plummeting out of the this weeks rankings.USC lost national player of the year Samantha Bricio to graduation, so it was expected there would be some growing pains. But its doubtful anyone figured USC would open like this. The Trojans will try to get on track with another tournament at home this weekend, but the competition is challenging. They take on No. 23 Kentucky, Northern Iowa, and No. 22 Creighton.3. Huskers solidify No. 1In the VERT Challenge in Eugene, Oregon, last weekend, top-ranked Nebraska opened with a 3-1 victory against Florida and a sweep of Texas. Nebraska-Texas was a rematch of last seasons NCAA final and a battle of No. 1 vs. No. 2. And it wasnt very close. The Huskers prevailed 25-15, 25-16, 25-21, led by a combined 21 kills from the Rolfzen twins, Kadie and Amber.However, Texas did start with a 3-1 victory against Oregon. The Longhorns lost three key seniors from last year, and they wont have middle blocker Chiaka Ogbogu, who is taking the season off to focus on academics. It may take a little while for Texas, now ranked No. 3, to really develop its chemistry.4. Hawaii looking to youngstersHawaii, which fell from No. 6 to No. 15, is still without All-American senior star Nikki Taylor, who is out indefinitely with an elbow injury. The Rainbow Wahine lost their opening matches to visiting Wisconsin and Kansas State, and then trailed Arizona 2-0. But behind sophomore outside hitter McKenna Granatos career-high 33 kills, Hawaii rallied to win 3-2. And perhaps more unusual than North Carolina having four Taylors is Hawaii having two McKennas. The other is freshman defensive specialist McKenna Ross.5. Keep an eye on ... WisconsinThe Badgers moved up to No. 2 in the rankings after three victories in Hawaiis tournament, and the rest of their non-conference schedule is also extremely challenging. Friday, theyll take on San Diego (which beat Stanford last Friday). Then Wisconsin also has matches on the road against North Carolina, Louisville, Texas A&M and Texas before starting the grind of Big Ten play. Nobodys going to question the Badgers strength of schedule, thats for sure. Chad Henne Jersey Jason Spriggs Jersey . He was followed closely by David Clarkson, donning red, seconds later. Clarksons actions one night earlier, leaping off the bench in defence of Kessel during a pre-season game against the Buffalo Sabres, will cost him the first 10 games of the regular season. http://www.prochiefsauthentic.com/Youth-Martinas-Rankin-Elite-Jersey/ . For the Wild it was their first win of the season and they now have a record of 1-1-2 while the Jets fall to 2-2. Jets start a six game home stand Friday with another divisional game, home to the Dallas Stars. Cameron Erving Jersey . A lawyer for MLB, Matthew Menchel, confirmed Wednesday the league dropped its case against Biogenesis of America, its owner Anthony Bosch and several other individuals. The lawsuit had accused Biogenesis and Bosch of conspiring with players to violate their contracts by providing them with banned performance-enhancing substances. Larry Johnson Jersey . Thousands of fans at Mosaic Stadium will be cozying up to each other in an effort to stay warm in chilly temperatures and block the Prairie wind that locals say can knock your socks off. FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Dusty Hannahs hasnt experienced all that many shooting slumps in his life, but the Arkansas guard might just have found the answer to his early season shooting struggles by not starting.For a second straight game, the Razorbacks sharp-shooter came off the bench on Tuesday night -- scoring 17 points in 17 minutes as Arkansas (7-1) rallied from a halftime deficit for an 84-72 win over Houston.Hannahs was 6 of 11 from the field and has now hit 5 of 10 3-pointers in his last two games, coming after he was held without a 3-pointer in the two games before that. After leading Arkansas in scoring last season, the senior is now embracing whatever role Razorbacks coach Mike Anderson gives him.I just tried to stop thinking about (missing shots), even though it was impossible to stop thinking about it because I was just watching so many misses happen, Hannahs said. ... I was relaxed the last game and relaxed this game, and I think its smooth sailing from here on, hopefully.Hannahs had plenty of help as Arkansas won its fourth straight game, with first-year junior Daryl Macon adding 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Moses Kingsley added 14 points and eight rebounds, while Dustin Thomas finished with 11 points as the Razorbacks shot 59.3 percent (16 of 27) in the second half after trailing 35-34 at halftime.But it was Hannahs who provided the biggest spark, particularly in the first half when he scored 10 points in nine minutes.Look how efficient he is, Anderson said. ... I think the key is getting playing time. Like I said, hes still a starter in my mind.Rob Gray scored 22 points to lead the Cougars (6-2), whose two losses this season have both come on the road against Southeastern Conference opponents. Damyean Dotson had 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Galen Robinson had 14 points and Wes Vanbeck scored 10.Arkansas entered having won seven of its last eight games against its former Southwest Conference rival Cougars, who were making their first visit to Fayetteville since 1991.The two teeams also came in averaging more than 84 points per game, though Houston struggled early while falling behind by as many as 14 points in the first half.dddddddddddd The Cougars rallied, however, to take a 35-34 halftime lead -- with 32 of those points coming from the backcourt quartet of Dotson, Robinson, Gray and Vanbeck.The four finished with a combined 61 points, but it wasnt enough to overcome Arkansas hot second-half shooting.We still had a lead in the second half, Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. ... This is a game we could have won, but youve got to play a little bit better defense and get a little more production out of our bigs in a game like this.BIG PICTUREHouston: The Cougars had the guards to run with the Razorbacks, but they had no answers off their bench -- which was outscored 34-14. Houston entered averaging 85.1 points, but it shot only 40 percent (14 of 35) in the second half.Arkansas: The Razorbacks failed in their first true test of the season, falling 87-71 at Minnesota on Nov. 22. On Tuesday, they played like the team coach Mike Anderson had in mind when he signed guards Macon and Jaylen Barford from junior college -- with an eye on immediately turning around following a 16-16 season. While Barford struggled with only two points, Macon was in control throughout, a positive sign for a team intent on returning to the NCAA Tournament after missing it last season.MISSING DAVISDevin Davis, averaging 12.7 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, played only three minutes for Houston and was scoreless after cutting two fingers on his right hand early in the game. The 6-foot-7 junior needed six stitches to stop the bleeding, and Sampson was forced to play a smaller lineup without him.UP NEXTHouston begins a four-game stretch at home by hosting Rhode Island on Saturday.The Razorbacks wrap up five straight games at home when they host North Florida on Saturday. ' ' '