Volleyball's reward for huge win -- three games this week

The question has been answered -- the Penn women's volleyball team is ready for another run at the Ivy crown.

If anyone doubted whether the reigning Ivy champion Penn women's volleyball team could pace the Ivies this season after graduating three exceptional seniors, they shouldn't be wondering anymore.

With an eight-game winning streak under their belts, including last Friday's comeback win over Princeton, the Quakers (9-3) have proven that they are as competitive as ever.

The squad will look to further prove its dominance this weekend when Penn takes on Cornell, Columbia and William and Mary.

Despite their success, the Quakers are not expecting to breeze through their next matches.

"We've got to keep working hard everyday without a let-up," junior outside-hitter Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan said. "We take each game as it comes and focus on individual victories which will eventually get us there."

The two Ivy League match-ups of the weekend hold additional importance in the battle for control of the Ancient Eight.

Both Cornell and Columbia will look to provide a challenge for the Red and Blue, as both teams picked up talented freshmen this season.

The opposing Ivy League teams also boast powerful outside hitters -- a weapon that Penn will attempt to silence.

"We're going to focus on shutting down their outside-hitters while running our middles and using the outside too," Kwak-Hefferan, who is also a Daily Pennsylvanian reporter, said.

The Quakers beat the Lions in both meetings last season and split games with Cornell. After dropping the first match to the Big Red, Penn responded to capture the second match.

"Our coach says 'be confident, not cocky,'" junior setter Meghan Schloat said. "We should know we're better and can take this match, but not let it go to our heads."

The Red and Blue will take a slightly different approach to the third match of the weekend against William and Mary. The non-conference home game will provide an opportunity to prove they can win outside the Ivy League against challenging opponents.

"I'm excited to play them," Schloat said. "We usually play non-conference teams early in the season. Now we've had two months of practicing hard and we're playing this great team. I think we will do really well against them."

Regardless of Ivy opponent the talented Penn squad is looking to both defeat non-conference rivals and defend their title one match at a time.

"Our main goal is to play consistently," Kwak-Hefferan said, "no matter who we're facing."

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