Gene's Team reunion for Volleyball tonight

There's nothing like getting the chance to take an old teammate back to school on the volleyball court.

And in tonight's 7 p.m. matchup between Penn (5-3) and Villanova (4-6) at Jake Nevin Field House, a couple of former club teammates will get that opportunity.

Two years ago in Southern California, Lauren Carter and Jennifer Badran-Grycan played together on a club soccer squad, Gene's Team. Carter was an outside hitter, Badran-Grycan a setter.

But time has passed, and both players now play opposing positions at rival schools. Carter is a right-side hitter for the Red and Blue, while Badran-Grycan is a defensive specialist for the Wildcats.

"I am looking forward to seeing [Lauren]... but as far as playing her, I am split," Badran-Grycan wrote in an e-mail. "I would rather be playing with her, and I think when I see her on the other side of the net, I will most likely laugh."

And to make matters even more interesting, Villanova first-year coach Allison Keeley is Carter and Badran-Grycan's former assistant club coach on Gene's Team.

"I've never seen [Lauren] play at the collegiate level," Keeley said, "so we're looking forward to seeing the changes in her game at the next level."

Keeley may feel differently during the match if Carter continues to play as well as she did at last weekend's Sheraton-Shula's Volleyball Invitational.

And while the Quakers will be riding the momentum of four straight match victories from that tournament, Penn coach Kerry Major isn't dismissing the Wildcats as an easy victory.

"Villanova has always been a tough team," Major said. "The first two years I came here, they beat us solidly. Last year might have been a fluke in the fact that we beat them so easily."

Villanova's strength at the coaching position will also make this match very interesting.

"The new coach there is a woman that I respect a lot," Major said. "She's a really good coach, and I know she's done a lot with the team and the people there."

Further indicating the potential for an exciting matchup is the similarity in the teams' results so far. Both have defeated Loyola (Md.) and dropped a match to Broad Street neighbor Temple.

The discrepancy in Penn and Villanova's records is in part due to the tough competition the Wildcats have faced in the early part of 2001, the likes of which include perennial national powerhouse Penn State.

Each team will go into the match with a clear mission. The Quakers, for their part, will be using their final non-conference contest of the season to solidify their starting lineup.

"We need to step our offense up and get into a better flow of the game with the six people that are in there," Penn senior setter Jodie Antypas said. "I think that will come when Coach establishes a starting lineup and we play together more."

The Quakers will try to mirror last weekend's success in doing so.

"We want to quicken up our offense and play solid defense just like we did in [last weekend's] tournament," Penn sophomore middle hitter Heather Janssen said.

Meanwhile, the Wildcats will continue to focus on avoiding mistakes.

"We're trying to play consistently, cut down on a lot of our errors and also be more aggressive at the same time," Keeley said.

Of course, both Carter and Badran-Grycan will bring a friendly agenda of their own.

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