V-ball splits two Ivy matches

Maybe they just didn't like the music. On Friday at the Palestra, the Penn volleyball team was handily defeated by Brown in a game notable not only for being Penn's Ivy League opener, but also for being the seasonal debut of the Penn band at a volleyball game. True to the theory, the spectators of Saturday's game versus Yale witnessed a convincing thrashing of the Bulldogs -- sans music. The weekend left the Quakers with a 9-6 record (1-1 Ivy League) and a bunch of questions about where this team is headed. The match with the Bears (7-9, 1-1 Ivy League) started out fine for the Quakers as Penn jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the first game. But Penn suddenly fell apart with the serving of Brown's Mary McMains. By the time the Quakers regrouped, they were down 5-14, and, while they did lose the first game, it was not without a fight. Game one ended at 9-15. Unlike last year's match against Brown, in which Penn dropped the first game only to rally and win the next three, this year's team made no such valiant effort. The near-lifeless Quakers lost the next two games, 2-15 and 3-15. Nothing was working for Penn, and the players looked like they knew it. "We just couldn't pull it together as a team," Penn co-captain Karen Kinsherf said. "We just weren't working together. I really can't explain it." Calling it "one of the worst matches I've witnessed and coached," Penn coach Margaret Feeney was unimpressed by her team's effort. "If this team is going to be successful in consecutive matches," Feeney said, "we need to come and have great desire and fight on every point of every match. That is the key to our season." The following afternoon the players seemed to take their coach's words to heart. Not a trace of the Brown embarrasment could be seen in the faces or the play of the Penn players. The Elis (10-7, 0- 2) gave the Quakers a competitive game, but nothing they tried could overcome Penn's aggressive play. Where the previous night saw balls dropping untouched onto Penn's half of the floor, the players in the Yale game had to be held back by Feeney so that they wouldn't crash into the scorer's table while chasing balls. Penn started the match tentatively, but the strong net play of senior middle blocker Jennifer Law, who finished with 14 kills, gave the Quakers some momentum. Law pummeled the Elis to lead Penn to a 15-7 win in the first game. In the second game, it was Sue Sabatino, the sophomore middle blocker, who revved up Penn's offense. Sabatino's 17 kills were accompanied by just a single error. But halfway through the game, behind the immense hitting of Carla Dane, Yale made its biggest stand of the night and prevailed with a 15-8 win. For the first few minutes of game three, it was unclear how well the Quakers would recover. But Luftman kept her team in the game, and, when Katy Stock stepped up to serve, the Quakers made a quick turnaround. Seven serves later, Penn had established a momentum which they would never lose. Games three and four were won 15-9 and 15-6. It was not just offense, however, that won the match against Yale. Defense was a true group effort, led as usual by Kinsherf. But it was the tandem of back-row bulwarks Stock and Megan McKay that made the difference. The two sophomores chipped in 13 digs a piece. With one of them in the back row almost at all times, Yale had to work very hard for each point. The two also helped neutralize senior Yale setter Leigh Bresler, whose unpredictable attack on the second ball made her a constant threat. With the backcourt taken care of, Sabatino was able to focus on what she does best: stuffing her opponent. She led the Quakers with nine blocks, including six solos. "Because of the whole team atmosphere, with every single block I could focus on what I was supposed to be doing," Sabatino said. "And the outside hitters set the block really well." With such a difference between the weekend's two games, it is impossible to guess where the Quakers are headed. "We can put out a notice for a team psychiatrist," Feeney said, "because were playing schizo."