Volleyball splits pair of Ivy League matches on road trip

Penn falls to Dartmouth on Friday, then hands HarvardPenn falls to Dartmouth on Friday, then hands Harvardits first conference loss of the season on Saturday This weekend in Hanover, N.H., and Cambridge, Mass., the Penn volleyball team faced its toughest Ivy League challenges of the season so far and fared well --Esplitting its two matches against the Ivy powers. After falling to the Big Green in straight sets, Penn (10-7, 2-2 Ivy) rebounded with a tough five-set match win over Harvard -- handing the Crimson their only league loss of the season. Friday saw the Big Green (14-6, 4-1) defeat the Quakers in straight games, 15-11, 15-7, 17-15. Although Penn actually out-killed and out-dug Dartmouth, the Big Green didn't waste the opportunities they had. The Dartmouth hitters displayed a knack for avoiding the Penn block and not making errors. "Their outside hitters killed us," Penn coach Margaret Feeney said. "We didn't have success blocking, which was real frustrating for us because I really think that's one of our staples." The Quakers offense was directed by junior setter Heather Tillett and largely executed by junior outside hitter Jessica Luftman and senior middle blocker Jennifer Law. Karen Kinsherf led the Penn defense with a remarkable 20 digs, and Luftman added another 16. "We started pulling it together a little too late. By far we played some of the best defense we ever have," Law said. "They didn't do anything we couldn't stop. Unfortunately, it was just a game we couldn't pull out and win. I know that next time if we ever meet them again it won't be repeated." On Saturday, in Cambridge, the Quakers outlasted the Crimson (8-8, 4-1) in five hard-fought games, 1-15, 10-15, 15-7, 15-6, 15-13. The lopsided score of the first game belied the fact that Penn played essentially good volleyball from the outset. But for the first game, the Harvard block was nearly impenetrable, and the Quakers just couldn't get much over the net. At the same time, Harvard's attack was meticulous. The Crimson needed to hit the ball only 16 times to win the game. Looking to shake things up in the second game, Feeney put in freshman setter Kristen Stine for Tillett. "If you change the setter, sometimes that wakes people up, gets people moving a little better," Feeney said. "She did a nice job of sparking us." For whatever reason, the short time on the bench had a positive effect on Tillett. "She really elevated her play," Feeney said. "She did a great job of running an offense, going to our hitters that were hot." Particularly successful was the connection between Tillett and Law. Law took advantage of her speed to avoid the Harvard middle blockers, finishing the match with 10 kills. All weekend long, when Law got a Tillett set, more likely than not, the result was a kill. "Heather is becoming increasingly more experienced," Law said. "Together we can look at the other team and know what we should run according to who we're up against." After an uncharacteristically slow night against the Big Green, sophomore hitter Abby Daniels had 13 kills to lead the Quakers against Harvard. She also led her teammates with four service aces and chipped in eight digs. Sophomore middle blocker Sue Sabatino, suffering from a cold and drained from a slew of midterms, had a relatively quiet night. The Ivy League's leading blocker and Penn's kill leader was held to just two kills and one block in two games. But Feeney just reached into one of the deepest benches in the Ancient Eight and pulled out Karen Lewis to take her place. The 6-foot-2 Lewis was given the unglamorous job of keeping a set of hands in front of Elissa Hart, Harvard's dominant force at the net. Lewis delivered six blocks in total. "She did an excellent job blocking against their big hitter, Elissa Hart, and really came in and stopped her," Feeney said. The Quakers won games four and five by fair margins. With a long road trip almost behind them, Penn made a final push in game five, winning by two points.