Sometimes, the best antidote to a frustrating game is to step back, relax and just play.
That is exactly what the Penn volleyball team will get another chance to do tomorrow against Temple -- its toughest opponent since facing Pepperdine in the Nike Invitational on Sept. 13.
The Quakers (17-5, 10-1 Ivy), whose 20-game Ivy League win streak was snapped by Cornell on Friday, recovered to beat Columbia on Saturday. They will get the opportunity to play the stiffest opponent remaining on their schedule just before finishing the season with three league games in six days.
But the non-conference matchup will also present the Quakers with a competitive contest.
The Owls (16-7) should provide a good measuring stick for how the Red and Blue can expect to perform in the NCAA Tournament, should Penn wrap up the Ivy League title.
"It just gives a chance to refocus and play some really good competition, which will ultimately help us in the end," senior Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan said.
"We need to use this match as a way to prepare for postseason play. If we finish up and win Ivies, we need to be ready for another level of team."
The Owls present the level of play the Quakers must meet in order to achieve their goals.
Temple returns all six starters from their team that advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament and won the Atlantic 10 last season. Although they are16-7 this season, the Owls have won their last 11 in a row and 15 of their last 16.
The Owls lost five games in a row to begin the season at a pair of invitational tournaments. Three of those early losses came to teams that were ranked in the top 25.
The midweek game gives the Quakers a break from the Ivy League. However, they did not want an easy break.
"I think that that's why I scheduled Temple, just because I want to play someone to remind us that we don't just have to beat Harvard, Dartmouth and Princeton," coach Kerry Major Carr said. "We have to be prepared to play someone at Temple's level."
Penn will be forced to play a nearly flawless match if the Quakers expect to beat the stronger, taller Owls. On paper, the contest is completely lopsided, but the Red and Blue hope to capitalize on a potentially listless Temple team.
"It's hard to play a team that you can't get psyched up about, that's outside their conference, someone that they don't respect," Carr said. "And so we'll take advantage of that."
Despite the mental edge the Quakers might hold, they will still be hard-pressed to challenge the court awareness of the Temple veterans.
"We'll have a game plan at the beginning, but I guarantee it won't be the same game plan by the end because a team like that has a lot of different options," Carr said. "When you pick something apart on them, then you got to go to the next thing once they close that zone up."
The key to victory for Penn will be tough defense. The Red and Blue's two offensive systems have been running smoothly, and they will try to throw off Temple by using both throughout the match. However, the Quakers must protect their own court before being overly aggressive.
"We need to dig everything we've got, and we're capable of doing that," Carr said.
"We're just going to have to play smart."
