Volleyball stays in first with weekend wins

Facing the Penn volleyball team continues to be an unfortunate chore for the rest of the Ivy League.

Last Friday, the Quakers disposed of Cornell, 3-0, at Newman Arena in Ithaca, N.Y., avenging their only loss so far this season, a 3-0 decision in favor of the Big Red at the Palestra last month.

Penn then headed to New York City on Saturday evening and defeated Columbia, 3-1, in Levien Gymnasium.

Penn (14-4, 8-1 Ivy League) has now won six straight, and 13 of its last 14 matches.

"We had our ups and downs [this weekend], but overall we were able to execute our game plan," Penn coach Kerry Major said. "We just had an air of confidence about us from the very first moment we walked onto the court."

The Red and Blue's two wins allowed them to keep a half-game edge in the standings over Brown (13-9, 8-2), which won both of its matches last weekend as well. The Quakers will travel to Brown on Nov. 16.

Penn and Cornell (13-9, 5-5) played their second close match of the season on Friday. In the first contest between the two teams on Oct. 13, the Quakers jumped out to a considerable lead in each game, only to have the Big Red slowly chip away each time and eke out a 30-27, 30-27, 30-28 win.

But this time, the Quakers were able to hold off Cornell for a 30-27, 30-25, 30-28 straight-game victory.

"We never really had a huge lead," Major said. "But we served much tougher, built a cushion of four to six points and maintained it."

One factor was Penn's ability to hang offensively with the attack-minded Big Red. Penn sophomore outside hitter Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan, who had a match-high 17 kills, was one of four Quakers to notch double figures in kills.

"Kwak has worked really hard throughout the season on learning to use the block with a variety of shots to complement her strong hitting down the line," Major said.

The Quakers had another solid match on Saturday against Columbia (11-8, 5-5), and left New York City with a 30-22, 30-21, 21-30, 30-18 victory.

Penn did face one problem, however, and that was shutting down Madia Willis and three-time 2001 Ivy League Player of the Week Kathy Lavold. The two Columbia players combined for 40 kills and a .221 hitting percentage.

"Columbia just has a really solid offense," Major said. "Kathy Lavold routinely hits right over or through the block, and Madia Willis is a great player as well."

The Red and Blue were able to counter, however, with strategic placement of their passers in the backcourt.

"We dug them more than we blocked them, and I think that's what won us the game against Columbia," Major said.

Cornell and Columbia have now fallen three-and-a-half games back from the Quakers in the Ancient Eight standings and are on the verge of being eliminated from contention for the Ivy crown.

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