Volleyball strikes high note

It was the match that had it all -- long rallies, diving saves, momentum switches, a blaring band, a frustrated coach, heady plays and a joyous celebration. When it was over, the Penn volleyball team achieved what it wanted, a victory over Yale, 17-15, 12-15, 5-15, 15-11, 15-11. It marked the Quakers' first victory over the Elis (4-7, 0-1 Ivy League) in three years. But the Quakers (7-3, 2-0) had a secret weapon Friday, the Penn band. But even without the band the following afternoon, the Quakers squeaked past Brown, 15-13, 15-9, 6-15, 18-16. In an unusual and successful strategy, Penn coach Margaret Feeney asked the band to come to the Palestra for the match against Yale. It was the first time the band had ever played for a volleyball match. Yale seemed to be caught off guard by the noise as it repeatedly missed its serves. "I think they helped immensely," Feeney said. "As soon as Yale walked in, they were looking around." Said Penn's drum major James Stallworth: "We actually had the Yale coach, or a representative of the Yale team, come and tell us that we were not allowed to do anything during play because we were upsetting her." As the band annoyed the Elis, the ball continually bounced the right way for Penn Friday. Twice in the first game, heads struck the ball accidentally and the Quakers were the beneficiary both times. In one of the plays, a ball that appeared to be going out hit the head of a Yale player. The Quakers won the first game, 17-15. Yale coach Peg Scofield did not take kindly to some of the calls or non-calls her team was receiving. At one point during the second game, she screamed to the officials, "You've got to call the game. You're kidding." But Yale was not going to be stopped by a rocking band, unfriendly refs or bone-head plays. Even after senior Hallie Ben-Horin seemed to run a mile to chase down a ball to put Penn ahead 9-7 in the second game, the Elis never gave up. They roared back, taking the second and third games, 15-12 and 15-5, respectively. "I think everyone was absolutely confident we were going to win," said junior co-captain Heather Glick, who recorded 48 assists in the match. "We never let up. We never played timid." As if it it were scripted, Penn took the fourth game, 15-11, leaving the fifth and final game to settle the affair. At 12-11 in the fifth, junior Nida Germanas used a pretty touch to split the Elis defense and win the point. After a timeout by Yale, the Quakers finished the Elis off quickly, winning the fifth game, 15-11. After the match, the players mobbed each other in their glory. Then they joined the band in a chorus of The Red and Blue, arm in motions and all. "We were excited," Glick said. "It was kind of a relief since none of us has beaten them and we finally did. It was our first Ivy match and we kicked butt." Battle weary from the marathon match, the Quakers struggled a little, but still put away Brown (3-7, 0-2) in four games Saturday. "I think the five-game, two and a half hour match took a little more out of us than I thought," Feeney said. "I think we made too many errors in the Brown match. We really weren't able to make good decisions. But all in all it was a good weekend to be 2-0 -- and these were two of the toughest teams in the Ivy League."