Volleyball loses momentum to Wildcats

The Penn volleyball team entered last night's match against Villanova on a roll. The Quakers had won eight of their last 10 games, finally exhibiting the consistency they would need to win the Ivy League tourney. Unfortunately, the Quakers ran into a major obstacle, as the Wildcats dominated Penn on their way to an easy 3-0 victory. The result was expected. 'Nova (13-7) is No. 6 overall in the east region and the top team in the competitive Big East. Penn knew it would be a difficult task for its young team to come up with a win. The Red and Blue would have to play a perfect match and hope the Wildcats would allow them an opportunity to stay in the match. 'Nova wasn't in a giving mood. It cruised to an early lead with a 15-8 victory in the first set. The Quakers would mount a small rally, only to be overwhelmed by an even larger run by the Wildcats. Penn needed to win the second game to stay in the match, but the rest of the match proceeded like the first game -- 'Nova finished out the rout 15-6 and 15-4. "Villanova has one of their best teams since I've been here," Penn coach Margaret Feeney said. The Quakers were dominated in every aspect of the game. The Wildcats relied heavily on their front line of Elizabeth Jones, Stacey Evans and Marisa Davidson and totaled 39 kills for the match against only 12 errors. Penn's defense was helpless against the barrage of Wildcat kills. 'Nova also tallied 10 aces in the match, against only three for the Quakers. "Our serve reception, which is normally one of our strong points, was weak in the match," Feeney said. Penn's offense was also lacking against the Wildcats. Penn had only 15 kills for the entire match and struggled with 14 errors. Penn's all-Ivy setter, Heather Glick, had only 10 assists in the three sets, far bellow her average of 10 per set. The big question for the Quakers is how they respond after such a total defeat. It will be a true test for the young Quakers to see how quickly they can regain the momentum that had been building up. Penn faces Columbia and Cornell this weekend in two must-win matches in which the No. 2 seed in the Ivy tournament will be up for grabs. Penn is still in the running with an Ivy League record of 3-2, but will need a better effort than it turned in yesterday in order to leave New York with two wins. · The Quakers' match against La Salle scheduled for earlier in the day at Villanova was canceled.