Volleyball tests win streak at Rutgers

The Quakers have won two straight but are the underdogs tonight. Coming off a very successful Halloween weekend, the Penn volleyball team will make a trip to New Jersey tonight, hoping that the state does not remain a Red and Blue house of horrors. The Quakers (7-12) last visited the Garden State on October 6, where they lost their league opener to Princeton 3-0. Tonight's opponent will be Rutgers (13-9), which has won five out of its last six matches overall, and its last four matches at home. "[The Scarlet Knights] are better than Villanova (which beat Penn, 3-0, one week ago). They are a big team, and should be tough at the net," Penn coach Kerry Major said. "I know our middles can compete against theirs, however our defense will be put to the test." The Quakers hope to build upon this weekend's success, but they know that it will not be easy. "I think the wins were good," Penn freshman Stephanie Horan, who hit .417 in Saturday's victory over Columbia, said. "They kind of brought it up after losing so many in a row. We definitely have to keep working hard, though. Otherwise, [our opponents] will beat us." Penn worked hard in practice yesterday, and they have a focused game plan against a tough Scarlet Knights team. "Rutgers is a lot tougher than the teams we just played," Penn senior co-captain Katy Stock said. "They have one really good player, Lola Opadiran, and we just focused in practice on how to shut her down." "If we come out with a 'W' then we do, and if we don't, we need to improve some part of our game for next weekend and take that with us from this match," Major said. It is extremely rare to hear such comments from any coach, but Major knows that what tonight's game really comes down to is practice against a stronger opponent. If the team wins, it's very nice, but the Quakers are focused on the Ivy League Tournament. Either way, The Red and Blue will get three more opportunities to make adjustments when they travel to New Haven for the Yale Tournament. Those matches, against Manhattan, Bucknell, and Colgate, will not be as tough as tonight's duel with the Scarlet Knights, but the Quakers will benefit from the experience. Penn entered this weekend at 0-5 in the Ivy League, needing at least one win to avert a first-round date in the Ivy Tournament with Brown. The Bears will host the event November 13-15, and have finished their Ivy League campaign undefeated. They capped it off this weekend, defeating second-place Dartmouth and Harvard each 3-0. In an effort to avoid facing Brown in Providence, the Quakers demolished Cornell and Columbia, earning a matchup with the Princeton Tigers in the Ivy Tournament's first round. The Quakers are anxious to show Princeton how much they have improved since the beginning of October. "Our problem [then] was our passing broke down," Stock said. "Since then, our passing has improved immensely, and if we pass well, we can run our offense, and it makes it easier for us to play defense. The key to our whole game is the passing." While the Quakers are glad to have secured the No. 6 seed, they know that the competition won't be expecting much from a squad whose only two league victories came against the loop's weakest teams. "I don't think we proved anything regarding the teams we lost to previously this season," Major said. "I think we proved that we are better than [Columbia and Cornell]. We will have a chance to prove ourselves against the other teams during the Ivy Tournament." A win in the Garden State tonight would give the Quakers something to really be excited about. Penn has just ten days to prepare for its rematch in Rhode Island with the Tigers.