Inconsistent V-ball plays host to Drexel

Throughout most of this season, inconsistent play has inhibited the Penn volleyball team from putting together any kind of a winning streak. Thus far, the Quakers have suffered lapses in many of their games, just as they were showing signs of stepping up to a higher level of play. But now it looks like that level is just a little bit closer. When Penn (10-8) hosts Drexel tonight at the Palestra at 7 p.m., the Quakers will be trying to prove to themselves that they have come a long way. Penn is coming off a successful weekend in which it showed a great deal of promise. The Red and Blue won the games it was supposed to, making only a handful of errors while doing so. This is a far cry from the beginning of the season, when the Quakers had to struggle to defeat the weaker teams on their schedule. Initially hindered by an inexperienced crop of freshmen who were still learning to mesh with the veterans, Penn is now playing up to the expectations coach Margaret Feeney set in September. Abby Daniels, Karen Lewis, Jackie Morris and Sue Sabatino have grown up. This freshman foursome is now a major factor in each game. After playing only sparingly in the beginning of the season, the four are now seeing significant playing time. This has been key for Penn. The freshmen are pacing the Quakers in a number of categories. Daniels is tops on Penn with 172 kills, and Lewis is leading the team in both hitting percentage and total blocks. "The maturing as we go along is definitely a factor," Feeney said. "Yeah, we've been playing together for one or two months now, but in no other sport do you rely so heavily on others. Someone receives, then passes, then sets the ball." What is comforting for Penn is now it only needs to get its chemistry down pat on offense. With the defense playing the best it has all season, the Quakers can continue cleaning up their sloppy play. Working to correct errors has become an integral part of each practice. "We're really concentrating [on eliminating unforced errors]," Feeney said. "We bring it to the forefront at practice. If there are two errors in a row, we'll stop practice and do sprints." Tonight against the Dragons (10-12), Penn will have to pay extra attention to how it works together because the Quakers will still be playing without the services of right-side hitter Karen Kinsherf. Kinsherf is still recovering from a sprained ankle she suffered last Friday, but she hopes to be able to play in next week's Villanova game. Also, middle hitter Jen Law still is not playing at 100 percent. She is recovering after suffering an ankle sprain two weeks ago. Tonight Penn will simply try to do what it set out to in September. "We want to win as many non-conference games as we can," Feeney said.