The Penn volleyball team knows exactly what it will be doing this Monday at 3 p.m.
The Quakers will have their eyes glued to the television on the third floor of the Dunning Coaches' Center, watching the 2001 NCAA Division I Tournament Selection Special.
For the first time in school history, Penn will have a vested interest in it.
The Red and Blue earned their first-ever NCAA bid last night after defeating Brown, 3-1, in a playoff match at Yale's Lee Amphitheater in New Haven, Conn.
"We all ran onto the court and were really excited, because the berth was a reality now," Penn senior setter Jodie Antypas said.
Before the match began, Penn (18-6) and Brown (16-11) were officially recognized as co-champions of the Ivy League, as each team posted an 11-3 record in Ancient Eight play during the regular season.
But with last night's 28-30, 30-25, 30-24, 30-13 win, Penn gets the honor of representing the conference in "December Madness."
"Even though we are officially co-champs, we got the last laugh when we put that final game away, 30-13," Antypas said. "That's pretty impressive in the rally-scoring format."
And when the Quakers secured that last point, they made a mad dash for the league trophy.
"They presented [the trophy] to both teams before the match, and then said each team gets it for six months," Penn coach Kerry Major said. "[After the match], we grabbed the trophy right away and said, 'We get it first.'"
Last night's contest was the second meeting between Penn and Brown in five days. The Bears came away with a 3-1 victory last Friday at the Pizzitola Sports Center in Providence, R.I. and secured a tie for first place that ultimately resulted in last night's playoff match.
But Major was able to use Friday's loss to develop a stronger game plan.
"The second night, the losing team always has the advantage," Major said. "We changed a lot of things, and they had to adjust in the middle of the game. When they did adjust, we went back to doing what we had done in the past. I think we threw them off by constantly changing things."
With a detailed scouting report in their minds and confidence in their game, the Quakers were able to shrug off the pressure of playing in the biggest match of their collegiate careers.
"I felt completely relaxed tonight, and I think the team felt that way too," Penn junior right-side hitter Stacey Carter said. "We knew we were going to win, and we knew how to win. We weren't tense or nervous at all."
Major, too, saw the opportunity for an NCAA berth as an added bonus to what was already a great season for the Penn volleyball program.
"We've never won an Ivy League Championship, so doing that was great," Major said. "We had already accomplished our main goal for the season, so to get a bid to the NCAA Tournament was just icing on the cake."
Everything went Penn's way last night. Even accidental digs were resulting in points.
They set [Brown middle hitter] Jessie Cooper every single time and she was hitting the slide [set] straight down," Major said. "[Penn sophomore outside hitter] Katie Brandt dug one off her foot, and it was just a perfect dig that resulted in a point. Even though Brown was hitting very well, it was just one of those nights for us."
And the Quakers were ecstatic that last night was their night.
"It's great for us to be playing longer," Antypas said. "I couldn't be happier that my season is going to continue."
