VOLLEYBALL SEASON REVIEW: V-ball roller coaster finished in valley

The Penn volleyball team's season can be summed up in one word: inconsistent. The Quakers truly rode a roller-coaster of a season to their 17-14 final record. Perhaps it is fitting the Quakers saved their most inconsistent play for last. They went from playing their best matches of the year in knocking off Harvard and Cornell in the first two rounds of the Ivy League tournament to getting eliminated with consecutive loses to Princeton and the Crimson. 1 "All season long we'd have some individuals step up one night, and disappear the next," Penn coach Margaret Feeney said. "They couldn't put two solid matches together." It was all part of the learning process for the youngest team Feeney has had in her six years as Penn coach. Eight freshmen were on the roster, and most saw significant playing time. In a rapidly improving league that will see most of its stars return, the importance of the young players stepping up is even greater. Fortunately, Feeney believes the freshmen gained the experience they will need to play more important roles next year. "Right now, they are sophomores in my eyes," Feeney said. When everything was working for the Quakers, a win was usually the result. No win was bigger than the match against regular-season champion Cornell in the tournament. Down two sets to none, the Quakers rallied to knot the match at 2. They then rallied from 11-4 in the fifth set to send the number one seed to the losers' bracket. "The seniors and upperclassmen left their mark on the program with the Cornell match," Feeney said. "From now on, whenever the freshmen find themselves down, they can remember the Cornell match." It is unfortunate for the seniors that they have to settle for the Cornell victory and not a title. Feeney's biggest regret is that captains Heather Glick and Carol Cit Kovic ended their college careers never having experienced the thrill of an Ivy League title. "When I recruited them, I felt certain they would win at least one title," Feeney said. Cit Kovic was invaluable this year as a vocal leader who helped the freshmen with the transition to the college game. Despite seeing her role change from middle blocker to outside hitter to defensive specialist, Cit Kovic continued to contribute to the team. This season she was third on the team in digs and second in service aces. Glick will be an even bigger loss to the team. She finished her career as Penn's all-time assist leader and led the team in assists, digs and aces this season. Glick secured her spot as one of the all-time greats at Penn. "The day I recruited her, is the day I knew the time would come when I would dread losing her," Feeney said. "I don't think the other 14 players realized how outstanding she was." Filling Glick's shoes will be her personally-trained successor, sophomore Heather Tillett. Feeney is completely confident in Tillett's abilities to assume control as the lone setter in Penn's offense. "Heather Glick will continue to work with her in the next few months," Feeney said. "Heather Tillett will set thousands of balls over the next few months." The offseason will be key for next year's team. With so many people seeing playing time this year, next season's lineup will come down to who shows the most improvement in the offseason. Feeney can count on much-improved sophomore Jessica Luftman and freshman Lindsey Anderson to be important contributors next year. Junior Karen Kinsherf, who quietly had a solid year, will also be expected to assume greater responsibility. "She was extremely consistent this year, and she made very few errors," Feeney said. "She is a role model for the type of consistent play that everyone should have." Next season Feeney would like to avoid the lineup shuffling that occurred throughout this season. With so many faces and rotations, it was difficult for the Quakers to grow accustomed to each other. Feeney is hoping six players will set themselves apart from the rest of the crowd to form a set lineup. "I would love to have six very aggressive players," Feeney said. "One of Princeton's strengths is that they have only eight players who are very familiar with each other." As the number three team in the Ivies this year, Feeney expects to be able to challenge once again for the league title next year. The pieces are in place. The Quakers just need consistency to hold those pieces together.