Wildcats top sloppy Vball

Villanova coach Ron Twomey said his team played sloppy at times. Penn coach Margaret Feeney thought the Wildcats would be better. Quaker junior Carol Cit Kovic felt this was the weakest Villanova team she had seen. Good thing -- or Penn might have really lost. As it was, the Quakers got slammed, spiked and outhustled in a lop-sided loss to the Wildcats, 15-8, 15-10, 15-9, last night at the Palestra. "Very inconsistent," Feeney said of her team's performance. "We did not play well tonight. I didn't think we played well defensively, which is a change. We made way too many unforced errors. Balls were being served in the bleachers." The story of the match was the play of Villanova freshman Stacy Evans, a true sensation. Her aerial attack of kills and blocks repeatedly halted any Quaker attempt to gain momentum. Penn was never able to find an answer to stop Evans. "She's a great player," Feeney said. "She's going to get eight to 12 kills in a match. I wish we just played a bit better, played a little longer, more consistent." At one point, the Quakers threatened to compete. They were up 9-3 in the second game when Evans changed the momentum. With two key blocks, she led Villanova to 12 of the next 13 points. The Wildcats took the second game, 15-10. "She hit some balls really well, but she can do that," Twomey said. "It's very much standard procedure for her." Nothing was standard for Penn as it gave a rare poor effort. The Quakers had been riding high this season, winning five of six, and four straight entering last night's contest. The Wildcats, who prolong their perfection to 10-0, ended Penn's smaller winning streak in short fashion. "After the first game, we just got down, and I think that affected our communications," Cit Kovic said. "And that affected our play in the second and third games." Any silver lining for Penn last night was the performance of senior co-captain Hallie Ben-Horin. Befitting her all-around game, she played solid on offense and defense, registering nine kills and 10 digs. Ben-Horin was instrumental in the third game when Villanova, up 7-1, seemed to be on the verge of routing Penn in the finale. Instead, Villanova won the third game, respectably, 15-9. But despite her efforts, Penn never seemed to get on track throughout the match. However, Feeney said she is "confident" the team will bounce back. "We'll go forward," freshman Susan Pojedinec said. "We don't look back."