Volleyball sweeps Ivy teams

The Penn volleyball team went 2-0 in its last two home games. The scariest aspect of Halloween weekend for the Penn volleyball team was the lethal efficiency with which it dismissed Ivy League opponents Cornell and Columbia at the Palestra. The Quakers ushered the Big Red and the Lions out without dropping a single game all weekend long. The Red and Blue entered Friday night's contest against the Big Red as a team that was supposed to be better than indicated by its seven game losing streak. By Saturday evening against Columbia (5-17, 0-7 Ivy League), Penn had dismissed all doubts that it was in fact better than its 7-12 (2-5) record shows. Penn found its offensive spark early and often against a slower Cornell (6-13, 1-5) team. Senior middle-blocker Karen Lewis dominated the net for the Quakers, recording a career high 13 kills and three solo blocks. Two other Quakers, junior co-captain K. C. Potter and freshman Stephanie Horan, joined Lewis in double digit kills, notching 13 and 11 respectively. But the biggest difference this weekend seemed to be in the team's attitude and concentration. "We felt like we were better than both teams, and we had to just show it on the court," Penn junior Angie Whittenburg said. "Our passing and hitting just seemed to have that extra edge because I don't think it ever crossed our minds that we were going to lose. We played with a lot of confidence this weekend." That confident attitude translated into a dominating advantage in kill percentage in all three games against the Big Red. Lewis and Potter hit almost .400 for the match, and the transition game was clearly faster for the Quakers. "When we started out hitting well, I think it also improved our sets and defense," Penn sophomore setter Amy Schutte said. "We know what we are capable of doing when we play focused. We definitely had that this weekend. We would get over to double-block their hits, and I think we not only got the angles we wanted, but nailed the shots down too." On Saturday, the Red and Blue only continued their offensive barrage, perhaps playing with a little extra fire for the seniors' last home game of the season. Five seniors started the match against Columbia along with freshman setter Jodie Antypas. Senior middle-blocker Sue Sabatino highlighted the 3-0 Quakers rout with 18 kills and two service aces. Joining Sabatino in the attack was Horan, who put in her second strong offensive performance of the weekend, finishing with 13 digs, 10 kills and a kill percentage of .417. "I think the match against Columbia was important for two reasons," Schutte said. "Not only was it the seniors' last home game, but the win also gives us some momentum heading into the last part of the season." Schutte is right about the importance of the two wins this past weekend. With the Ivy Championships only two weeks away, the Quakers need to build confidence and eliminate mistakes. And it is a lot easier to be enthusiastic and focused about a match when you are up two games rather than down. "We have the Yale Tournament as a final practice for the Ivy Championships," Whittenburg said. "This weekend's wins help put the losses behind us, and we can go into the next two weeks feeling good about our chances." Two out of the three teams Penn will face in the Yale Tournament on November 6 currently have winning records. Having recorded their first Ivy League wins this weekend, the Quakers must like their chances of placing high in the Ivy Championships, especially after fine tuning against evenly matched opponents Bucknell and Colgate beforehand.