For the third straight year, the Penn volleyball team has traveled to Happy Valley for the chance to do something never before accomplished in program history -- win an NCAA Tournament game.
The unseeded Quakers (20-6) will take on Big East champion Pittsburgh (25-5) today at 5 p.m. in Penn State's Recreation Hall.
For the first time, the Quakers will face an unseeded opponent in the first round of the tournament. Compared to Penn's previous opponents of the last two years -- Penn State and UCLA -- the Panthers are not a consistent national powerhouse and are a less imposing team.
"Obviously [Pittsburgh] is not a top-16 team," Penn coach Kerry Major Carr said. "We know that we have a great chance to take our first-round match if we continue to play hard."
Nevertheless, the Quakers are not taking the Big East champions lightly.
The Panthers boast two of the best players in their conference in senior Wendy Hatlestad and sophomore Megan McGrane.
The 6'3" Hatlestad earned Big East Player of the Year, and leads the Panthers in kills (503) and kills per game (4.88).
McGrane earned the Big East's inaugural Libero of the Year award for her stellar job at anchoring the Pitt defense. She was ranked fifth in the nation and first in the Big East with 5.40 digs per game.
The Quakers will also have to contend with junior Megan Miller, who was named Most Outstanding Performer in the Big East Tournament.
Pittsburgh "has two very big outside hitters above 6'2", and several others who are really good," Carr said. "They are still a very strong team and beat tough opposition in the Big East Tournament."
But the Quakers, led by Ivy League Player of the Year Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan, seem confident that they can compensate against Pittsburgh's size.
"Playing against Pepperdine and Pacific in the beginning of the year really prepared us against taller hitters," senior Lauren Carter said.
"We definitely have more experience coming into this year, we are seeded against a team that we feel confident in beating," she added.
In watching tapes of Pittsburgh's games, Penn discovered several tendencies that it hopes to take advantage of.
Pittsburgh "sets out of the back row a lot, so we have been practicing on that," Carr said.
"They also seem to only hit cross-court, and we really like that because we have our own tall hitters to hit it back over. I'm not sure we're going to see a lot of blocks against them, though."
On the eve of the matchup, Kwak-Hefferan was named a Verizon Academic first-team All-American by the College Sports Information Directors of America, after receiving second-team honors last year.
"We are very proud of both her academic accomplishments and her leadership on the team," Carr said. "This year's senior class has done some amazing things."
If Penn wins tomorrow, it will take on the winner of the No. 11 Penn State-Robert Morris game on Saturday for the right to go to the Sweet 16. Penn beat Robert Morris in the regular season.
"We are going to come out intense at the beginning and go point for point with [Pittsburgh]," Carter said. "One of our goals has always been to break down each match into what we can do to win each game."
