Major hopes to lead Ivy turnaround for Volleyball

At 3-1, an upstart Penn suddenly appears to have a shot at the title At 3-1, an upstart Penn suddenly appears to have a shot at the titleThe Quakers, who finished 11-16 in 1998, are gunning for their first Ivy title since 1990. They did, though, and now the entire season seems to have a different shape. In Kerry Major's second season as the Quakers coach, Penn surprisingly has the appearance of a contender. Although the Quakers (3-1) face a very difficult test this week, starting with Rutgers (2-5) at the Palestra tonight and then playing three matches on the west coast at the San Francisco Tournament this Friday and Saturday, the players are undaunted. "We're a good team," Penn sophomore Kelly Szczerba said. "And we can do well no matter who we play against. Aside from the talent that we have, we're also a really smart team. So even if a team might be better than us, we can beat them with smart shots and smart plays, knowing what they're going to do." Even though Penn is brimming with self-confidence, other teams are not necessarily convinced. At the Colgate Tournament, Major felt that both Colgate and La Salle underestimated her team early, as Penn easily won the opening game in five-game battles against both the Red Raiders and the Explorers. When asked what concerned her most about coming to the Palestra, Rutgers coach Anne Leonard-House laughed and said, "The traffic's so bad -- that's always a nightmare." Even if the Quakers can surprise a team like the Scarlet Knights early, it doesn't mean that victory will be at hand. Winning, however, is not necessarily what these early season matches are all about, though. Penn does face a very difficult schedule in preparation for Ivy League play and building the Red and Blue's strength is the most important part of the non-conference schedule. "We play all better teams than us," Major said. "All from better conferences than the Ivy. If we play better teams, we get better, and then we come into Ivies, and we lead the Ivies, and that's what I hope to do -- similar goals [to the basketball team]. Fran [Dunphy] and I coach the same way. To be the best, you have to play the best." The Quakers themselves see the wisdom behind the schedule and are already looking forward to playing against the other members of the Ancient Eight. "We definitely have the potential," Penn junior Amy Schutte said. "We're definitely able to win in the Ivy League, much more so than my first two years. If we keep playing and improving like we are, it won't be a long shot for us to be contending for the Ivy Championship." Part of the secret to Penn's improvement is that this season, the players are not focusing on, as Major calls it, "the Big W." Rather, the Quakers have much more detailed objectives for each game, starting with tonight's match against Rutgers. "We have many different little goals goals," Major said. "One of them is to shut down Lola [Opadiran, Rutgers' star senior hitter], to play indomitable defense, to have high service aces, low service errors. I could go on and on with a list, but it's on the wall of our locker room. It's little goals. We're taking care of little goals, not focusing on winning and losing, and we're getting wins because of it." That plan has clearly filtered down to the players, who knew that the goal at the Colgate Tournament was to gradually wear down the stronger teams against which they played. Two of Penn's three wins at the tournament came in five-game matches. "When you play to five, it really comes down to stamina and who wants it more," said Szczerba, who had 14 kills in the La Salle match. "[Rutgers is] strong -- they're Big East and all -- but so long as we shut down their big hitters, we can do okay against them." Beyond tonight's match with Rutgers, Penn's goal for the season is to build itself into a contender for the Ivy Championship. "[A championship] might not happen this year," Major said. "But that's where it starts, having the heart and the competition and the drive to be better and be Ivy Champions." The Quakers have plenty of time to build themselves up for the Ivy season as their first game against an Ancient Eight foe is not until October 8 at Brown. "I think a mistake I made last year," Major said, "is if you're so focused on the Ivy Championship, the brass ring, beating Princeton, that you lose the process -- you lose the pass that you have to pass or the serve that you have to serve. You lose the details, and volleyball is a game of details." Still, the Tigers visit the Palestra October 22. The Ivy Championships will be at Dartmouth on November 11-14. By then, opposing coaches might very well be wishing that the most frightening thing coming out of the Palestra really is the traffic.