Volleyball opens with Bucknell at Palestra tonight

The Penn volleyball team will finally get a chance to showcase its skills in front of the Palestra crowd when they face off against Bucknell (4-7) tonight.

Most teams nationwide have played at home by now, but due to the Quakers' Ivy League-mandated schedule and two early-season tournaments at the University of Pacific and Villanova their home opener was delayed until the season's seventh match.

That was a long enough wait for the Quakers (3-3).

"We definitely want to come in and show that this is our house," Penn senior Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan said.

Penn coach Kerry Major Carr noted that her players have an advantage over other teams when they play at the Palestra.

"We definitely enjoy the advantage of the heat," Carr said. "We're used to it, since we practice here, but most teams play in air-conditioned facilities. It takes a little getting used to."

The game will provide Penn a chance to get used to that heat before hosting the Sheraton-Penn Volleyball Invitational this weekend.

However, Penn's coach won't allow the Quakers to look beyond tomorrow night.

"Bucknell traditionally has some big, strong people," Carr said. "We'll need to play our best game."

In order to play their best game, the Quakers will have to cut down on last weekend's mistakes. The players cited blocking, serving, passing and defense as areas that the team expects to improve.

And they need to be thinking better on the court as well.

"When the mental aspects aren't working," Kwak-Hefferan said, "everything else tends to break down."

Penn was its own worst enemy last weekend, keeping less talented teams like Villanova and Manhattan in games with their own mistakes. The Quakers had 13 serve errors in the Manhattan match alone.

"There were too many mental errors" last weekend, Carr said. "We really need to improve our serving and passing in that respect."

Carr also cited a laundry list of other problems that Penn needs to clean up during its first home game.

"Last weekend our blocking was all over the place," Carr said. "We need to pay attention to where specific opposition players are on the court. On defense in general, we need to focus on being disciplined and being more exact."

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