In front of home crowd, Volleyball drops two more

The Penn volleyball team looked like it was going to pull off an upset this weekend, not once, but twice. The thought was there. The fans were there. The spirit was there. But it just wasn't enough to defeat Dartmouth and Harvard. Friday night, Penn faced the Big Green -- a team that leads the league with 15 wins and only two losses. The Quakers lost to Dartmouth (16-2, 3-0 Ivy League), last year, but prior to that, Penn coach Margaret Feeney had never lost the Big Green in her then seven years in West Philadelphia. In the first game, Penn (5-10, 1-4) and Dartmouth were tied at six until Dartmouth began capitalizing on Penn's defense holes. The Big Green consistently began placing the ball wherever there was an opening, quickly accumulating points to win the game, 15-7. Dartmouth came out strong in the second game, going up 8-0 before the Quakers were even able to put a point on the board. The Big Green's streak continued, as they gave up only two points ending the game at 15-2. During the third and final game of the match, Penn seemed as though it was vying for an upset. Penn took the lead 4-0, only to lose the game, and, in turn, the match, 15-13. Penn senior setter and captain Heather Tillet recorded a career high 20 digs, while junior middle blocker Karen Lewis had nine kills and a .286 kill percentage on the night. With the loss behind them, the Quakers faced Harvard on Saturday. "We were positive, we stayed positive. We had the advantage to play two matches in a row, and we didn't have to wait a week," Feeney said. "So we came in positive and started fresh." Penn lost the first game against Harvard 15-7, and looked to redeem itself in the second game. Down 7-3, Penn pulled it together to take the lead 12-8, due in part to junior middle blocker Sue Sabatino. "Sue Sabatino started playing better in the second game, when 'Sabby' plays well, the rest of the team seems to follow," Feeney said. Despite the team's lifted spirit and play, Harvard (11-6, 4-0) came up with six points to take the lead, 14-12. Penn continued to fight, but it wasn't enough as the Crimson edged the Quakers to end the game, 17-15. Harvard took a several point lead early in the third game, and never relinquished it, winning, 15-10. Against Harvard, Sabatino posted 13 kills, a .263 clip. Helping with the offensive efforts was Lewis with 11 kills as part of a .206 kill performance. Defensively, senior outside hitter Jessica Luftman had 17 digs. In order to win the games, Tillet believes that the team needs to improve its defense. "In this league where there is a lot of parity, there are no 6'5" hitters. What makes the game is defense," Tillet said. "And so what it's going to come down to is who is more aggressive, who makes the least errors, and who is ready to come out and not give points off at the net." The Quakers have two weeks, to make improvements before their next Ivy matches. During this time, the team will focus on making improvements and staying positive. Since the regular season games are only for seeding in the Ivy volleyball tournament, what will really matter is the team's play at that time, when it counts.