Vball wants to avenge loss to Big Red

Penn coach Margaret Feeney thinks she has the most talented team in the league. She thinks she has the best setter in the league in her junior co-captain, Heather Glick. She believes she has the best passers with senior co-captain Hallie Ben-Horin and junior Carol Cit Kovic starting, and freshman Jessica Luftman coming off the bench. The coach feels the recent play of sophomores Jennifer Law and Karen Kinsherf has eliminated the team's perceived weakness: offensive firepower. However, the Quakers (9-7, 4-1 Ivy League) have not played like a top team as of late, losing their last four. Before yesterday's practice, the team held a players-only meeting. The Quakers will have the opportunity this weekend as they host a weak Columbia squad (5-10, 1-4) tonight at 7 and then defending Ivy League champion Cornell (5-13, 3-2) tomorrow at 4 p.m. "I think these are going to be real important for us," Feeney said. "We'll try to gain a little more of our confidence and prove to ourselves that we are the best team in the league." The Lions, whose only Ivy win came against lowly Dartmouth, should serve as a warm-up for the Quakers before the weekend's main event against the Big Red. Penn will be seeking revenge against Cornell, a team that has beaten the Quakers in the Ivy League tournament the last two years. "There's just something about Cornell and their attitude that we hate," senior Keri Gibson said. Feeney is aware, despite the emotions of a regular-season match, it is the Ivy league tournament where the season is won or lost. Having the best regular-season record is nice, but the championships are won in November. Case in point -- last year the Quakers came into the Ivy League tournament with a better record than the Big Red and a win against them in the regular season. But when it came to crunch time in the tournament, Cornell rolled over the Quakers in three games en route to winning the championship. "It's the team that peaks at the right time," Feeney said. "We haven't peaked yet so it's still to come."