Volleyball takes broom to Engineers

The Penn volleyball team swept Lehigh last night to improve to 5-4 this season. With state bragging rights on the line, the Penn volleyball team walked away the victor. Last night, the Quakers traveled to Lehigh and put forth an impressive performance, dominating the Engineers in a 3-0 victory. After several games against teams much taller in stature, Penn finally ran into a team that it could meet eye-to-eye. The Quakers took advantage of this vertical equality, putting on a blocking clinic in their shutout of Lehigh. Penn swept the first two games, 15-9 and 15-11, before putting away the win 15-6 in the third and final game. However, it was not all that easy for the Quakers. Penn knew coming into the game that the Engineers had some very big and smart hitters on their team. In the opening game, the team slightly struggled in stopping Lehigh's 6'2" middle blocker Veronica Ret. Fortunately for the Quakers, they were able to quickly figure out how to defend against her and made the necessary adjustments. The Quakers viewed last night's game as a big confidence booster and, after several five-games matches, as a sign that their hard work is paying big dividends. "They were frustrated by our blocking," Penn coach Kerry Major said. "I think that it was just a frustrating experience for them overall." Sophomore Kelly Szczerba, a middle blocker, led Penn with 12 kills in 19 attempts and had the highest hitting percentage on the team. Fellow middle blocker and senior co-captain Karin Witte also made a major contribution to the Quakers' effort with eight block assists and one solo block. "If we block their hitters, it takes them out of their game mentally and they start to make more errors," Szczerba said. "They start tipping but our defense is very good at picking up the tips. It opens up our game quite a bit more." The victory pushed the team's record over .500 to an impressive early season mark of 5-4. Last year, Penn finished 11-16. Junior Jodie Antypas had a huge performance for Penn with five service aces, in addition to her 40 assists. Sophomore Stephanie Horan and freshman Kai Gonsorowski also made major contributions to the win with a team-leading nine digs each. "It was a team effort," Szczerba said. "I tried to focus more on my blocking tonight. Everyone was out there giving their all." Penn relied heavily on its bench during the game and several freshman reserves made key contributions to the victory. Freshman Michelle Kliszewski, an outside hitter, substituted for senior outside hitter K.C. Potter in the second game and provided a big boost to the Quakers, Major said. Another freshman critical to the Quakers effort was Stacey Carter, who came in and played flawlessly. "Every time she touched the ball it was great," Major said. Carter finished the game with four kills and no errors in five attempts for an .800 hitting percentage. "We have three freshmen defensive specialists and they did a great job. They pick up tips and pick up deep balls," Szczerba said. "The team does not miss a beat no matter who we put into the game. "One of the things that is going to help us out this season is our depth. We don't have one or two star players who carry the team, the whole team can go in there and perform well." The Quakers will need to rely on that depth when they play three games in two days this weekend as they host the Sheraton Invitational at the Palestra.