V-Ball hosts Classic

Quakers set to battleQuakers set to battletough Lady Knights Quakers coach Margaret Feeney anticipates that Penn will win the Quaker Classic this weekend at the Palestra. A Penn victory in this tournament, however, means that the Quakers will have to hand the potent Rutgers Lady Knights, who have won 10 of their first 11 contests, only their second loss of the season. Rutgers got off to the best start in Lady Knight history at 7-0 thanks in a large part to freshman Lola Opadirian. The Lady Knight star has earned Big East Rookie of the Week honors for two consecutive weeks by recording an unprecedented 143 kills in only 11 matches, including a personal high of 15 against both Fordham and Central Connecticut State. But if on the other side of the net, the Quakers (2-0) are not overly impressed by Opadiran's accomplishments, it is likely because Penn sophomore Abby Daniels recently achieved the same feat. On Tuesday against La Salle, Penn setter Heather Tillett connected with Daniels for 15 out of the team's 45 total points. The 5-foot-11 outside hitter from California had the hot hand all match, killing balls at great velocities to all angles of the court -- leaving the Explorer defense guessing for the entire three-game match. Tillett, however, will try not to rely too much on one target this weekend. Instead, she will try to exploit Penn's strength of having several tall front-line players who can hit a winner off of a set. Tillett wants to make sure middle blockers Sue Sabatino and Karen Lewis, rightside hitter Karen Kinsherf, and outside hitter Jessica Luftman are all involved in the mix. "I always try to distribute the ball," Tillett said. "I don't necessarily think about who gets the ball more. But, if I move the ball around, we can always keep the other team guessing." The Quaker Classic begins with a 5 p.m. match tonight between Rutgers and Rider. Penn will then face a warmed-up Rider squad at 7 p.m. The Broncs won the North Eastern Conference Title a season ago behind then-senior Amy Ford, who finished 13th in the nation in digs. Without Ford this season, however, Rider is off to a rough start at 1-7 and have shown few signs of improvement. At 1 p.m. on Saturday, Penn will face the dangerous Lady Knights. The Quakers will then face Towson State at 6 p.m. on Saturday to culminate this weekend's tournament. Penn's match against Towson St. was supposed to be the feature match of this weekend's tournament. But unlike the Lady Knights and Quakers, who are off to unexpectedly fast starts, the Tigers have opened the year an unspectacular 2-3. Penn's goal this weekend is to focus on each game individually, win the Quaker Classic, and head to Drexel next week a perfect 5-0. "We are not practicing anything differently for [the Rutgers match]," Tillett said. "We have been concentrating on different skills that we can be dominant in over the other teams."

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