Volleyball tries for second home win

After earning its first win of the year against Lafayette, the Penn volleyball team faces a winless Loyola tonight. The Penn volleyball team plays its third match in five days tonight versus Loyola at the Palestra at 7 p.m. In Friday's 3-0 win against Lafayette and Saturday's 3-1 loss at La Salle, the Quakers (1-3) showed improvement while still trying to eliminate early-season errors. "We were quicker on our one-hits," Penn coach Kerry Major said. "Also, we were placing the ball instead of hitting away." After registering only 44 kills in their first two games against William and Mary and George Washington, Penn had a total of 71 kills this past weekend. Senior middle blocker Sue Sabatino led the Quakers with 16 kills, which increased her season total to 25. The Quakers also played better defensively. Against La Salle, Penn amassed 53 digs over the course of four games to raise their average to 12.92 digs per game. Nevertheless, Major thinks the defense still needs to improve other skills such as blocking. "We only had seven blocks against La Salle," Major said. "We definitely should have more." Hence, blocking was the main focal point of yesterday's practice. The Quakers worked on hand work, foot work and reaching over the net. After giving the team the day off Sunday, yesterday was left as the only Quakers' practice inbetween matches. "Over half of the girls were in the weight room Sunday on their day off, which shows great work ethic," Major said. Although Loyola (0-8) is winless, the Red and Blue will need to be prepared for tonight's battle. Major said Loyola plays at a La Salle-caliber level and runs a far more extensive offense than Lafayette, with players constantly in motion. The Greyhounds, who finished their 1997 campaign with a 14-21 record, are led by rookie coach Angela Rutledge. She was originally the assistant coach under former Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference co-Coach of the Year Katha Scheeler. On the court, senior middle hitters Andra Allison and Jaci Kight are standouts. Both earned Academic All-MAAC honors last season. Loyola's greatest strengths are its experience and depth. The Greyhounds returned all six starters from last year, including two seniors and two juniors. Coming off the bench, Loyola features senior co-captain Erin Darragh, who usually substitutes in for defensive purposes. The bench also features freshmen twins Loren and Jaime O'Connor and sophomore Jane Gibbons. Penn hopes to use the experience gained from last weekend to combat Loyola's deep and balanced attack. "I think we're really building on each game," Sabatino said. "It's like we're climbing to reach the top and we're almost there. And when we get there, we're going to burst." Tonight at the Palestra, an improved Penn team continues its "climb" against an underrated Loyola team.