It's homecoming a few weeks early for Volleyball

Like many Penn students, freshman Diana Meek will be travelling home for fall break. Unlike most Penn students, though, Meek will not use fall break as a chance to take time off from hard work. Meek, an Escondido, Calif., native, and her Quakers volleyball teammates will be making a West Coast road trip to take on Cal State-Fullerton and UC-Irvine this weekend. "I've played in their gyms for my club team," middle blocker Meek said. "I'm really excited to play a college match there." The Quakers (5-6) will be using these matches to work on their play before resuming the Ivy season next week. "Our goal is to improve with every match, always keeping our main goal, the Ivy League tournament, in the back of our heads," Quakers assistant coach Brant Chillingworth said. The Red and Blue will take on Cal-St. Fullerton (8-9) Sunday at 7 p.m. before going on to Irvine to play the Anteaters Monday. The Anteaters (4-11) defeated Brown 3-2 in a competitive match earlier in the season. Penn came back from an 0-2 deficit to beat Brown, the defending Ivy champs, last Friday. After beating Brown, though, the Quakers lost to Yale the next day in straight sets. The team blamed a lack of concentration following the Brown victory for the loss. "We have to start playing smart, like we know we can play," Meek said. "We do it in practice, and we have to do it in the matches." Chillingworth expects Penn to concentrate on these two matches in order to improve for the Ivy teams. "We know we'll be facing two tough teams," he said. "I expect the team to play at a high level. We must reduce unforced errors and become more disciplined on defense." Despite the concentration on the matches, the Quakers expect to have a good time during these few days in California. "It'll be fun, but we need to concentrate on volleyball," said Meek, whose home is only an hour south of the two schools. "If we work hard and focus, it will pay off and we'll have a blast." Meek feels this road trip, the farthest the Quakers will travel this season, will inspire the team to play at their top level. In addition to Meek, three other Quakers will be visiting their home state for these matches. "This trip will have us more fired up, especially me," Meek said. "I know we'll be playing hard." Although the results of these matches have no direct effect on the Ivy standings, the Quakers know they need this tune-up to get back in the Ivy race. A trip to California may be considered a time to relax for most people. For Penn's California contingent, fall break represents not just a homecoming, but also a time to concentrate and work.

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