Volleyball falters early in Ivy Championships

Penn falls to No. 3 Brown in the first round before being eliminated by Princeton in the second round of the losers bracket. It was a cruel twist of fate. On October 23, the Penn volleyball team fell to Princeton in four games ( 15-8 11-15, 2-15 12-15) at Jadwin Gymnasium. Unpleased with the result, the Quakers returned to the Palestra, vowing to increase their effort and start anew. And for the season's final eight games, the Red and Blue were undefeated -- a perfect 8-0. After a Penn first-round loss in Ithaca on Friday to No. 3 Brown and a 3-game sweep of Columbia in the first round of the loser's bracket of the Ivy Championship Tournament, Penn was to face the Tigers in the second round of the loser's bracket. The match marked Penn's first meeting with rival Princeton since their October 23 defeat. Under the Ivy League's double elimination format, the winner of the match would get to advance to the next round of the loser's bracket, while the loser of the match becomes officially eliminated from the tournament. "Having set our goals to become a different team, I think that we are ready and I think that we can win," Penn setter Heather Tillett said on Wednesday. In the opening game, Penn battled back-and-forth with the 2-time defending Ivy League champs. Tillett distributed the ball evenly between Jen Law and Karen Lewis on the middle block and Jessica Luftman and Karen Kinsherf on the outside. Sophomore Megan McKay aided Luftman on serve-receptions, and Princeton outside hitters were held in check. From the opening serve of the match, the Quakers offense showed the cohesiveness that was missing during their earlier meeting with the Tigers. Princeton, however, responded with nearly error-free play. Melissa Ford -- the Ivy's assist per game leader -- had the luxury of finding all five of her targets on the top of their games. The Tigers starting six played the entire match, committing a mere 5 errors compared to Penn's 17. The Quakers kept each game close with strong defensive play. Law lead the way in digs, recording 11 of the team's 49. McKay added 10, Kinsherf 9, and Luftman 8. In each game, however, it was the flawless Tiger play prevailed in the end, as Princeton defeated Penn (15-12, 15-11, 15-12). "When we play well, I think that we are even better than last season," Princeton coach Glenn Nelson said on Thursday. Penn's month-long momentum was halted on Friday when they fell in the first-round of the tourney to No.3 Brown, 15-3, 15-5, 20-18. The Quakers' blockers were unable to stop the Bears potent offensive attack, as Brown setter Christy Mumm took advantage of having three offensive stars beside her in Kathryn Rice, Tomo Nakanishi and Leyla Goldsmith. The loss to Brown, however, was not a result of poor play on the part of the Quakers. The Red and Blue played tough defense, especially in the match's finale, a 20-18 war of a game. Offensively, sophomore Jackie Morris stepped off the bench with 9 kills in what was likely was the most gutsy performance of her 2-year career. Brown's victory over Penn was the Bears' first en route to becoming Ivy league Champs. After Brown's victory, the Bears rolled over host Cornell, who upset No. 2 seed Yale to advance.Brown then edged Kate Nash and Harvard 3-2 in the third round. In the finals, Brown again faced the Crimson, who defeated Yale to advance from the loser's bracket. This time the trio of Rice, Goldsmith, and Nakanishi convincingly pounded Harvard, securing the Bears their first Ivy league title in eight years. This weekend's tournament was the final chance at a collegiate championship for Penn seniors, Kinsherf and Law. Despite a midseason rededication to playing a winning brand of volleyball, the Quakers were nonetheless unable to prevail against either Princeton -- the 2-time repeating champions, or Brown -- the team that this weekend dethroned the Tigers. Still, the midseason change of attitude was not for naught. The Quaker's impressive 8-game winning streak was a classy end to a well-fought season. And even though the Quakers lost twice this weekend at Ithaca, at least Penn can honestly say that they gave winning their best shot.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.