Volleyball can't dream up a win facing two California teams

The Penn volleyball squad couldn't overcome mental errors against two tough teams. The Penn volleyball team was unable to meet the challenge that faced them out west, as it dropped two matches, both in straight games, this past weekend in California. Penn played two stronger teams -- Cal State-Fullerton and UC-Irvine. Since both opponents are not in Penn's conference, the games were not crucial to the Ivy League race. Instead, they were used to focus and improve on some of the weaker points of the Quakers team. Fullerton won 15-8, 15-6, 15-12 and UC-Irvine prevailed 15-12, 15-9, 15-13. "I expected a really high level of competition from the other teams, and my expectations were confirmed," Penn senior outside hitter Jessica Luftman said. The tough competition caused the Quakers (5-8) to perform at a higher level, making their overall game more solid. However, the strength of the opposing teams could not be overcome. Part of the problem was that the Quakers had too many unforced errors. "We made critical errors at crucial times in the match, like serving a ball out when we were tie 10-10," Quakers junior defensive specialist Katy Stock said. Luftman attributes these errors to "mental lapses." She believes that "when you've done all these skills so many times, you know how to do the skills. Whether or not you produce them in the game situations or pressure situations comes down to mental awareness." Luftman also noted that at times the Penn competitive spirit doesn't kick in until it is too late in the game -- after the Quakers have lost several points. Despite these errors, the Penn defense was strong. Stock was named to the Ivy Honor Roll for Player of the Week as she had 11 digs at Fullerton She has 66 digs for the year, and is averaging 1.36 digs per game. At UC-Irvine, sophomore Angie Whittenburg posted 18 digs, while Luftman posted 16 digs, comprising half of the team's digs. "Our defense was better than its been all season; we really stepped it up and people were digging balls we hadn't gotten to all season," Stock said. Penn continues to lead the Ivies in blocks, due in part to junior middle blocker Sue Sabatino who is averaging 1.52 blocks per game, also the highest in the league. Offensively, the Quakers were not able to pull together to shut down either team. Junior middle blocker Karen Lewis has the second highest kill percentage in the Ivies (.314). But this was not enough to stop Penn's opponents. "I think we need to work on our offense, and put forth a really strong offense, because it seems like our defense is coming together," Stock said. "And now we need to put it all together and have a really good offense for this weekend." The weekend to come could be a critical point for the Quakers as they face two Ivy competitors, Dartmouth and Harvard. Despite the losses, the team felt confident about how they performed. "It was a consensus that we played pretty good volleyball, and therefore, we didn't feel like it was a loss," Stock said.