Penn's volleyball team was prepared for a challenge this past weekend at the University of San Diego Invitational Tournament.
Its three opponents, Oregon State University, University of Nevada-Reno and the nationally ranked University of San Diego are all well-respected West Coast squads, while Penn is usually not considered to be at their level.
The Quakers, fresh off of a solid performance in Charlottesville, Va., nevertheless battled hard as the underdog in all three of the weekend's matches. Unfortunately, they could not come up with a win.
On Friday, the Red and Blue took on Oregon State to open the competition. After losing the first game of the match 30-13, the Quakers bounced back in the next game and made it closer, losing by a small margin of three points, 30-27.
The Quakers had no better luck in the final game, however, as they went down, 30-21.
Highlights of the match included the Quakers' four blocks and junior Cara Thomason's two service aces. Thomason, who hails from Los Angeles, was one of eight members of the Red and Blue from the Golden State who were playing close to home over the weekend.
Going into last weekend's tournament, the Quakers ranked first in the Ivy League in service aces. They had hoped to take advantage of the momentum gained by these serves this weekend, but were unable to do so against tough opponents like San Diego.
Against USD, Penn was decisively defeated in the first game, 30-23, but found a spark in the second. The Quakers gave San Diego a tough back-and-forth match, but were unable to pull out a victory.
After losing the second game 30-25, Penn collapsed in the last one, losing 30-13.
In a press release, Penn coach Kerry Major Carr said, "They were just a much better team. We stayed with them during the first two games, but the end showed their strength."
Already overpowered by two superior squads, the Quakers were not in good shape going into their last match against Nevada-Reno.
And just like the weekend's previous matches, the final one turned out just as disappointing. The Quakers lost three straight games to the Wolf Pack, coming as close as two points from a win in the second game.
Penn freshman Linda Zhang, who was recently named Ivy League Rookie of the Week, had 22 assists in the losing effort. Classmate Laura Black, a native of Irvine, Calif., also played well, picking up 11 kills.
The Quakers, although they would have liked to pick up a win this past weekend, will take their losses in stride and use them as a learning experience.
After going up against the powerhouses of the West, Penn will be better prepared for next weekend's Sheraton/Penn Invitational.
David Burrick contributed to this report from San Diego.
