Volleyball wins second-straight Ivy championship

After capturing the Ivy League championship for the second year in a row, one might expect the Penn volleyball team to relax and enjoy the accomplishment.

But unlike some of the other newly-crowned league championship teams, the Penn volleyball team does not have that luxury. The Quakers are already focused on Wednesday night's regular season finale against Princeton.

"We're not done yet," Penn coach Kerry Carr said. "We have so much more in front of us. Princeton is the strongest team we face all season long.

"To us it is another Ivy League Championship game."

If Penn plays anything like it did in this weekend's actual Ivy League Championship contest, they should have no problem rolling over the Tigers.

Despite a notable effort from Yale and numerous nervous mistakes from the Quakers, Penn won three straight games to secure the title on Saturday at the Palestra.

"We made more mistakes but would come right back," Carr said. The Quakers "reached the goal this time, nothing was going to get in their way. It was a really great feeling."

Penn was particularly dominant on offense -- an area that has not been traditionally strong for the Red and Blue -- recording nine service aces and hitting .273 against the Elis.

In her last home match, captain Stacey Carter played brilliantly -- notching 10 kills, six digs and three aces, while committing zero errors.

"She stepped it up, not because it was her last game, but because it was most important to the team," Carr said. "That's why she's been the captain of the team for the last three years."

Freshman Michelle Kauffman led the team with 11 kills and a .444 hitting percentage. She also recorded two service aces and 14 digs on the day.

The first game was close, but the Quakers were able to pull ahead due to their strong serving. Five of the nine service aces came in the first game, propelling Penn to a 30-27 victory.

It looked as if Yale would take the second game, when the Elis went on an early 10-3 run, to stake themselves to a 20-13 lead. But the Quakers pulled within five, forcing Yale to take a time-out.

The Elis were not able to stop the Quakers' momentum, however, as Penn -- anchored by the stellar serves of freshman Cara Thomason -- took the game, 30-28.

Thomason also proved crucial in the third game. The two teams started out neck-and-neck, but Penn eventually pulled ahead, 10-6. Thomason scored two consecutive points to bring the lead to 22-12 before clinching the match with a solo block and a kill to win, 30-15.

Thomason's similar play in previous games has put her in contention for Ivy League Rookie of the Year.

"She stands a really good shot," Carr said. "But there are a lot of good rookies in the league this year."

Unfortunately much of Thomason's contributions cannot be captured in statistics.

"She did a lot of intangibles in the back court and served tough all the time," Carr said. "But the statistics might make it hard for her to win."

Other standouts include Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan, who is also a general assignments reporter for The Daily Pennsylvanian. She was as recently named to the 2002 Verizon Academic All-District II Volleyball Team.

"I'm really proud of her," Carr said. "That is to me the ultimate goal -- to play at the Division I level and also get the best education in the nation."

Kwak-Hefferan is also a front-runner for the Ivy League Player of the Year Award.

In order to win the title outright, the Quakers first had to beat Brown on Friday night. The Bears put up a very good fight, closing a large Penn lead to only one point at 29-28. Penn was luckily able to squeeze by, winning the game, 33-31.

Brown had a similar comeback attempt in the second game, but Penn was able to take that game as well, 30-22.

The third game progressed in similar fashion, with the Bears keeping it close until Penn scored five unanswered points behind Thomason's six-straight serves, including two aces.

Junior Heather Janssen served three straight points to increase the lead to 26-13 and Carter finished off the win with a powerful kill to end the last game 30-17.

Carter recorded a double-double in the match, recording 13 kills and 12 digs. Four Quakers had double-figures in kills and three had double-figures in digs.

After a brief weekend of celebration, the Quakers will head to the gym today to prepare for the matches ahead. A win over Princeton would be a perfect end to a successful season and would provide the twelfth-straight win for Penn. A win would also be a confidence-booster heading into the highly-competitive NCAA tournament after Thanksgiving.

"We have to go to a new level to even be in the ball-game," Carr said.

So much for that relaxation time.

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