V-ball to opoen Ivy League schedule with Brown, Yale

It's finally here. After nearly a month since the season started, the Penn volleyball team is eager to begin Ivy League competition. This year's Ivy opener is one of the latest in recent years, coming a week later than usual. While the Ivy League regular season serves only to determine the seedings for the league conference tournament, there is something special about playing fellow members of the Ancient Eight. "There is a lot more emphasis on the Ivy League matches, and there is more desire to win," Penn co-captain Jessica Luftman said. Penn opens its league schedule this weekend against Brown and Yale. The Quakers (8-5) take on the Bears (6-9) tonight at 7 p.m. and the Elis (10-5) tomorrow at 4 p.m., both at the Palestra. Last year, the Quakers opened the Ivy season against the same two teams. Penn first lost to Yale in three straight games in New Haven, Conn., then bounced back to defeat Brown in four games in Providence, R.I. In recent years, the Quakers have not been very successful against the Elis. Only once in the last five years has Penn been able to defeat Yale. That victory came two years ago when only five current players were at Penn. If the Quakers are going to reverse recent history and come away from the weekend with two wins, they will need to play with a lot more determination than they have during their previous matches. After a tough loss to Navy last weekend, Penn won three straight matches largely because of an increase in the level of intensity. The Yale match will require the Quakers to step up to an even higher level tomorrow. "We need to play with a lot of desire on every single point in order to come out of this weekend and be successful," Penn coach Margaret Feeney said. "Whether we're up 12-0 or whether we're down 0-5, they need to play at the same level, same intensity, same desire on every point." Penn heads into this weekend's action with a nine-game winning streak on the line. After the five-game loss to Navy, the Quakers went on a tear off three-game victories over Lafayette, Virginia Commonwealth and Canisius. Of those nine games, only three times did Penn allow the opposition to score in double digits. Feeney says she will look to outside hitter Luftman to continue to elevate her offensive game this weekend. Luftman's defense will also be key to Quakers' success. Luftman is among the leaders defensively with over two digs per game and is also among the leaders offensively with just under two kills per game. However, Feeney adds that the team can not depend on one player to carry the team. "We just need to play six, eight, 10 people strong all the way around," Feeney said. "We are going to play as a team and help each other out and win as a team." After the long wait, the Quakers are eager to take their first steps as a team towards the Ivy League title this weekend.