Volleyball looks to regroup on road

One of the defining characteristics of a good sports team is the ability to rebound from a humiliating loss with a solid performance. However, the Penn volleyball team's matchup tomorrow at Lafayette (1-2) will provide an excellent test for the Quakers (1-2), who suffered a disappointing beginning to their season in last weekend's Penn Invitational. The 1 p.m. match at Kirby Field House will serve as an excellent opportunity for Penn not only to put a win on the board, but also to monitor its improvement after a tough week of practices where the team appeared to make dramatic strides, according to the coaching staff. "We had a great day of practice [yesterday]," Penn coach Margaret Feeney said. "The beginning of the week was a little tense after last weekend's disappointments, but the team appears to be sharp and having fun out there." If there was a positive that came from the weekend for the Quakers it was in identifying their problems, which is the first step towards fixing them. Mental errors and breakdowns in communication plagued Penn throughout its straight set losses to Providence and Delaware. "We spent all week working on our cohesiveness and playing together as a unit," Feeney said. "I truly believe that this could be an outstanding team within a period of around three weeks. The question is how long it will take us to gel." One reason for the errors last week was simply a lack of match play. The Quaker coaching staff noted that in spite of all the good things seen in practice, a final verdict on Penn's improvement can't be given until the team's match performance is assessed. In spite of all the scrimmaging and match situations that Penn can simulate in practice, the players continue to see the same plays from the same players. There is no substitute for real competition. There will be no excuses for Penn this week due to the fact that the Leopards are just as inexperienced on the court, having played only four matches, including one last night against Drexel. "We're still very inconsistent," Lafayette rookie coach Penny Erisman said. "We simply need more match play to avoid all the errors that come from not having played together." Erisman also noted that the Leopards were a very "scrappy" team that was doing an excellent job picking up balls defensively in the early season. Despite the relative proximity of the schools, the two teams know very little about each other. The teams have not played in the last few years, and the Quakers will not even get a tape of Lafayette in action until today when they will view last night's Drexel match. "We won't change our game that much," Feeney said. "We may alter our rotations some to avoid mismatches up front, but we need to worry more about our game. We need to play better than we did last weekend. If we can cut down on those errors and communicate better offensively and defensively, we should win." It is very important for the Quakers to come home with that win, not just to even their record, but to give them confidence heading into the more difficult portion of their schedule. "Winning is the most important thing," senior captain Devon Austin said. "To accomplish that, we have to put everything together. We have to play as a team and play aggressively. We also have to have fun out there. Last weekend just wasn't fun." Most importantly of all however, tomorrow's match will be used as a gauge to determine whether or not the Quakers have the potential to rebound from a disappointing weekend, in the process taking the first step in becoming a good team.