Notebook: Volleyball not panicking yet

Even though the Penn volleyball team started its Ivy League season this past weekend with losses at Brown and Yale, there is no need to circle the wagons. There is no need to panic. The alarms are not sounding. The Quakers (8-8) know that the season really comes down to the Ivy League Tournament in November. That's why Penn coach Kerry Major refused to describe this weekend's matches against Harvard and Dartmouth at the Palestra as "must-win" matches. "We struggled last year around this time, too," Major said. "Our team is together physically and mentally we're going to grow and be as strong as we can be when we see them again in the Ivy Tournament." · That physical strength is clearly evident in the statistics that the Quakers have racked up in their first 16 matches, especially among those in the sophomore class. Stephanie Horan leads Penn with 162 kills, and Jodie Antypas is on a pace to take over fourth place on Penn's all-time assists list at the end of the season. But perhaps the most solid sophomore for the Quakers, however, has been Kelly Szczerba. The Carle Place, N.Y., native is second on the Red and Blue with 132 kills, already more than she had last season, and is easily Penn's blocking leader with 24 solo blocks and 35 block assists. "[Kelly] is our best blocker on the team, by far," Major said. "She's grown in that position and put up the numbers we've needed her to put up. In that way, I'm excited about my whole sophomore class, the way that they've grown between freshman and sophomore years." Szczerba, who was named the Quakers' Most Improved Player after her strong performance as a freshman last year, was more confident in the team than in her own play. "I think I'm having an OK season," Szczerba said. "I do feel that I can play better. I think that we have a right to be confident [as a team], and I think we're a very talented team." · The race for this season's award for Penn's Most Improved Player should be a very interesting one. In addition to the continued improvement of the sophomore class, Penn has had a pleasant surprise so far this season from its senior class, particularly former captain K.C. Potter. Potter did not play spring ball for Penn, but came back this fall refocused. She has already tallied a career-high 101 kills, ranking third among the Quakers in that category. "I think I've definitely grown a lot as a player and I've developed more confidence on the court than I had in previous years," Potter said. "Since I didn't play in the spring, making that decision to come back [meant] that I was recommitting myself to something. I wasn't going to do it in a half-assed manner." Potter's full effort has paid off, as she was named to the Golden Gate Invitational's All-Tournament team earlier this season. · The Red and Blue's throng of freshmen has been very productive so far this season, both in the front row and in the back row. In the front row, Stacey Carter's recent performances have given the Penn coaching staff a delightful problem -- finding a place for her to play. "I've got to find a place for her on the court," Major said. "Stacey just doesn't make errors out there." That will be very important to a Penn squad whose biggest problem of late has been making too many errors. In the match against Yale, Carter had nine kills and hit .818. For the season, Carter leads the Quakers with an unbelievable .427 hitting percentage, making just eight errors on 75 attacks. · Kai Gonsorowski was supposed to be in the front row as an outside hitter but when she arrived at Penn, she was moved to the middle and eventually the back row. Since her arrival there, Gonsorowski has shined, ranking third on the Quakers with 110 digs. She led Penn with 13 digs against the Elis. "She knows her role and has totally embraced it, and that's awesome," Major said. The move hasn't been completely easy, but it is working out fine now. "Adjusting to the new position has been hard," Gonsorowski said. "But you just go out there and do it and try your best. I like back row. Everyone just does what they need to do." Shayna Higa has done what she's needed to do for the Quakers so far this season. The defensive specialist has tallied 103 digs along with 14 service aces after converting to the back row from being a setter in high school. "Adjusting was kind of overwhelming in the beginning," Higa said. "The hardest thing is making sure you get the job done and doing what is expected of you." An expert in doing just that so far this season has been Alexis Zimbalist, who leads Penn's freshmen with 137 digs thus far. Zimbalist has also been one of Penn's more accurate servers -- she is one of only two Quakers with a minimum of 10 aces to register more aces than service errors. She has done this by serving a little more conservatively than the rest of the Red and Blue. "If you're serving aggressively, you'll miss often," Zimbalist said. "Other members of the team have a better serve than I do so I make it a priority to get it in before I go for the ace. Stephanie [Horan] leads the entire league in aces because she serves so aggressively, so of course she's going to miss once in a while. It's an instant point when she does make it, so it balances out." The Quakers will try this weekend to balance out their wins and losses in the Ivy League by bringing together all of these strong performances and minimizing their errors.

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