Frosh shine for Volleyball at home

The Penn volleyball team served notice this past weekend that although it is young and inexperienced, the Quakers are still a force to be reckoned with. Penn (7-2) made a major statement by going 4-1 en route to winning the Sheraton Invitational at the Palestra. The Quakers won a grueling three-game match against Morehead State to capture the crown. "This weekend was incredible," Penn co-captain Stacey Carter said. "Everyone on our team played great and we really showed what we are capable of." Penn freshman Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan was key for the Quakers, playing in all five matches and taking home the tournament MVP award. "This was a shock basically," Kwak-Hefferan said. "There are a lot of really good players on our team, so I was just really surprised that I got it." Penn opened action in the tournament with its only loss. Going against Elon College, the Quakers lost, 15-9, 15-12, 8-15, 15-17, 17-15. Freshman Lauren Purdo played well for the Quakers, amassing 22 kills, 15 digs and eight blocks. Purdo also hit .400 for the match. Penn's next two matches were breezes as the Quakers pounded both Youngstown State (15-7, 15-6, 15-6) and Colgate (15-5, 15-6, 15-4). After dispensing with Colgate, the Red and Blue pulled out a grueling five-game match against Drexel. Penn took a 2-1 lead in the match, but the Dragons blew Penn out in the fourth to force a deciding fifth game. In that game, the Quakers held on in a seesaw battle to win 19-17 for the second time in the match. The final was 11-15, 15-10, 19-17, 8-15, 19-17. Against Drexel, the Quakers went with an all-freshman lineup for most of the time. Purdo played solidly, tallying 17 kills and 15 digs. Fellow freshman Katie Brandt also shined, with 15 kills and 19 digs. Penn managed an impressive 13 service aces against the Dragons. "That's pretty impressive to have a lineup of all freshmen and have them pull it out like they did," Carter said. "We really showed what kind of depth we have on this team." In the Quakers' final match of the weekend, they further displayed an uncanny ability to win close games in beating Morehead State 17-15, 16-14, 17-15. The surprisingly long match lasted nearly two hours because of the competitive play. "It was a really long match because it was such back and forth play," Penn freshman Heather Janssen said. "We would constantly have to come back from being down game point. It was pretty incredible to pull all those games out." Junior Stephanie Horan nailed 13 kills and added 19 digs to lead the Quakers. Classmate Kelly Szczerba threw down 12 kills and chipped in five blocks. Carter, who played for the first time since she injured her foot earlier in the season, racked up 12 kills and five blocks against the Eagles. For the Quakers, more important than going 3-0 in the tournament was proving that they could -- even with a wealth of inexperience -- consistently pull-out tough, close games. "In our preseason, we were killing everybody, it wasn't a challenge," Janssen said. "Playing and beating these higher-caliber team like Drexel and Morehead definitely gave us a lot more confidence." Penn will try to continue its winning ways tomorrow night in an away game against Rutgers. The young Quakers could have their work cut out for them against the Scarlet Knights, who sport a 7-3 record. Rutgers defeated Penn in three games last season at the Palestra. "Rutgers has a good team, and they also have a pretty intimidating gym," Janssen said. "They always have a great fan turnout, so it should be tough, but I think we're ready."

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