V-ball needs sweep

The goal this weekend for the Penn volleyball team is simple: It must win its final two Ivy League games against Columbia and Cornell to secure the all-important second seed in the Ivy League tournament. With a 3-2 league mark, a loss in either match would place the Quakers in the middle of the pack in a parity-filled Ivy League. Unfortunately the Quakers do not control their own destiny. They are also relying on a young but improving Harvard team to defeat Yale, which handed Penn one of its Ivy defeats this season. Harvard recently dealt Cornell its only league loss this season. The Crimson will have the advantage of playing at home, but a win is far from guaranteed. "We have no control over what Harvard does," Penn coach Margaret Feeney said. "We have to focus on winning our matches." The match at Columbia tonight should be the easier one. Columbia is one of the weaker teams in the league and has lost its last three league matches. The Lions are all but assured of one of the lower seeds in the league tourney. Still, Feeney refuses to overlook Columbia. "Any team that's struggled like Columbia will snap out of it soon," Feeney said. "We have to make sure that it's not against us." Tomorrow the Quakers travel to Cornell, 4-1 in the Ivies, for their most important remaining regular season match. The Big Red faces Princeton, which is 5-0 in the Ivy League, today in a match that could decide first place. Feeney hopes the Quakers can catch Cornell on the rebound after a long, emotion-filled match the previous night against the Tigers. The Big Red will definitely pose a challenge for the Quakers. Cornell has played exceptionally strong defense this season, so Penn will need its offense to step up. But the key to the match will be how well Penn's middle hitters perform. Cornell runs its offense through the middle, as opposed to its outside hitters. The Quakers need junior Jen Law, who is at about 95 percent now after injuring her ankle, to return to her pre-injury form. Feeney said that freshmen Susan Sabatino and Karen Lewis will also see playing time this weekend as Penn tries to disrupt Cornell's offense. Penn's main problem this year has been its lack of consistency, as seen in its last two matches. After crushing Drexel in its best win of the year, the Red and Blue were dominated by Villanova Tuesday. Penn cannot follow the same pattern this weekend if it hopes to win both matches. "It was a little frustrating the way we lost at Villanova," Feeney said. "We have to try and look more at what we did against Drexel." Penn will also try to finalize its lineup as the season nears its close. With so many new players on the team this year, much of the season has been spent finding the combinations that yield the best results. The continued emergence of the freshmen is important as Feeney tries to set her rotation. With some consistency and a little help from the Crimson, Penn will find itself with the second seed and home court advantage for the Ivy League tournament. One loss, and Penn's title aspirations will be even further away.