"If I had to choose one word to describe the season, it would be memorable," freshman volleyball player Cara Thomason said.
After their 3-0 loss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Penn State Friday at Happy Valley, the Quakers' season is just a memory.
The Nittany Lions brought an 80-game home winning streak into the match.
Thus, a Penn (22-5, 13-1 Ivy League) victory would have required a "perfect performance" by the Quakers, Penn coach Kerry Carr said.
Unfortunately for Penn, the Nittany Lions overcame the Quakers' early dominance and, after tying the first game at 19 apiece, finished the game on an 11-4 run to win 30-23.
Penn opened the match "playing perfectly," Carr said, and finished the match "playing tough as well."
Aside from game two, which Penn State dominated, 30-10, the Red and Blue played a strong match, highlighted by the first and third games.
In game three, the Quakers got out to an early 5-3 lead. Penn State eventually took a 15-13 lead and would never trail again, winning, 30-25.
"We ended strong," Carr said. "And that is huge for what this team stands for."
Ultimately, this "never-quit attitude and mental toughness will help to propel [them] to next season," Carr said.
It also helps to have three talented, experienced juniors who are more than qualified to replace the seniors as the team's leaders.
The senior class, consisting of Stacey Carter, Liz Watty and Kai Gonsorowski, "brought leadership, focus and a desire to win to the team," Carr said.
Still, Carr is confident that the juniors will carry Penn to another successful season next year.
"We could not have a better junior class," Carr said, referring to 2002 second-team All-Ivy honorees Heather Janssen, 2001 co-captain Meghan Schloat and two-time first-team All-Ivy Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan, who is also a Daily Pennsylvanian reporter.
The Red and Blue's match against Penn State marked their second consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament -- a remarkable achievement considering it was also Penn's second ever appearance in the tournament.
Penn's volleyball program has made great strides over the last few years under the helm of Carr, including two Ivy League championships and three consecutive winning seasons.
After sharing the Ivy League crown in 2001 with Brown, the Quakers had sole claim to the honor this year, sweeping Harvard and outlasting a late surge by Princeton.
Still, the Quakers are determined to improve.
"The expectation and hope is that every season will be even more successful than the last," Carr said. "With our depth and hard work, I think that [next year] we can be even better than we were this year."
Thomason echoed the words of her coach.
"We are in a good position to repeat this year's successes," Thomason said. "And with practice, we can really improve."
Freshman Michelle Kauffman will be counted on heavily next season after posting a team-high 10 kills against Penn State.
"She had an up-and-down season but rose to the occasion [in the NCAA Tournament]," Carr said.
Carr hopes to use the spring practices to give Kauffman, Thomason and other rookies such as Grania Michel and Emily Puro, more individual attention, as they are the future of Penn volleyball.
In the more immediate future, however, Carr will look to Schloat, Janssen, and Kwak-Hefferan to lead the Quakers.
The Red and Blue open next season with a tournament at the University of the Pacific. Teams such as Pepperdine, a top-10 team that is currently in the NCAA's Sweet Sixteen, will also be competing.
Why would Carr want to open next season against such strong competition?
"It will be good preparation for the next step of this program."
