Volleybook gods let Penn down

If there is such a thing as karma, if there is a mystical aspect of sports, then Penn is in trouble, because the gods that inhabit its most sacred athletic temple, the Palestra, have turned to the dark side, to Princeton. In February, it was men's basketball; on Friday night, it was volleyball. The Quakers (10-10, 1-4 Ivy League) dropped a 3-0 decision to Princeton (16-5, 4-1) that was really more like a 3-2 match. It wasn't just simply that the Quakers lost that was eerie, it was the way in which they lost. For the first time since early in the season, the Red and Blue started a match on top of their game, thoroughly controlling the flow of play to take a 14-10 lead, capped by a block by Kelly Szczerba, who came back from a pinched meniscus to play impressively against the Tigers. "After the Harvard match [a surprising 3-1 Penn win a week ago], we realized how we could play and we showed that we were a good team," said Penn setter Jodie Antypas, who had 47 assists against the Tigers. "We did a good job of coming out strong and we knew what to expect and what kind of defense they were going to run, and that really helped us." But Penn was unable to close the issue, despite having three chances to do so. A series of misplays by the Quakers soon gave the Tigers a 15-14 lead. Stephanie Horan's kill, one of her 13 on the night, kept the Quakers alive. Penn, however, came right back to take another shot at game point, as Stacey Carter's floater bounced into the Princeton frontcourt for one of her 13 kills, giving Penn a 16-15 lead. The teams traded sideouts but Princeton finally strung together three points on Erika Hansen's serve, the last of which fell to the floor after a series of thrilling saves by the Penn defense. Princeton had a 1-0 lead in games, and as they have for most of the season, the Quakers crumbled then and there. "We had a choice," Penn coach Kerry Major said. "We talked between games and I said that you can fold up now and go home or fight. We had to prove that [first game] wasn't a fluke." Had the Quakers folded, had they gone down 15-3 in the second game, no one would have left the Palestra with a knot in his or her stomach. But that's not at all what happened, as Penn raced to a 7-0 advantage in the second game. "They really wanted to come back and bring it to us in the second game," Princeton outside hitter Michelle Buffum said. "We didn't want to let them get control, but we let up a little bit in the beginning and it showed." The Penn band played the theme from SportsCenter and the 178 in attendance at the Palestra sounded like many more. It almost felt like a faint version of the chant ordinarily reserved for Dan Solomito -- who was sitting with some teammates in Section 121 -- was ringing around the rafters. Princeton got one point and nothing seemed so bad. A second point was also quite run-of-the-mill. The Tigers' third point was a serve that somehow bounced off of Michelle Kliszewski's steady hands in the wrong direction. A little later, Penn led 9-5, and a serve from Princeton's Sabrina King that was on its way out of bounds struck Kai Gonsorowski's leg and bounced to the ground, a completely freakish play that cut Penn's lead to 9-6. The Palestra was silent. The Tigers led 10-9 when Penn finally recovered, but the damage was done as a game that seemed surely in hand was suddenly close. "We're still working on cutting down our errors," Gonsorowski said, "And that's how they scored a lot of points on our errors, but eventually we got back into it." The Quakers came back to take a 12-10 lead but eventually dropped the second game 16-14. Penn was clearly drained after that and fell 15-6 in the third game to close the match. Maybe there is some kind of force affecting Penn-Princeton results at the Palestra, but Major just sees it as coincidence. "I think it's just us and them every time and we have our own mental war going on with that," Major said. "But it was nice to have the support out and I think that does come from the other sports." There was certainly one thing that was strange about the night -- Penn earned a measure of respect from Princeton. "I was scared," Princeton coach Glenn Nelson said. "We hit our usual stuff and they were digging anything. They're going to be a factor and despite their record right now in the league at 1-4, I don't want to have to play them in the first round. I was very impressed." Having played valiantly against arguably the Ivy League's top team, the Quakers should have opponents quivering as much as any 1-4 squad can.

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