At the conclusion of the regular season, four teams will split the Ivy League volleyball title. Cornell, Harvard, Princeton and Yale will share the 2004 championship.
Last night, Penn fell to Princeton in three games, handing the Tigers a share of the title.
"Princeton served strong, had an aggressive defense and covered well," Penn junior outside hitter Cara Thomason said. "Whenever we face Princeton, we can expect long rallies so we must keep our concentration. Their outside hitters can find the open spot on our court."
The Quakers (15-11, 7-7 Ivy) dropped the first two games, 30-23 and 30-21.
Although the Red and Blue attempted a comeback, the Tigers (19-7, 10-4) clinched the third game, 30-28.
"We did a good job of not giving up," Thomason said. "The third game was our best and we finished the strongest. This shows our emotional and mental strength."
Junior middle hitter Michelle Kauffman notched 10 kills, as did freshman Laura Black. Thomason and senior Lynzy Caton recorded eight and seven kills, respectively.
Defensively, sophomore defensive specialist Meredith Damore tallied 17 defensive digs. Black and Thomason added 15 and 12 digs, respectively. Freshman Linda Zhang tallied 35 assists and 11 digs against the Tigers.
"We had steady passing and our serving was good," Thomason said. "We only made two service errors."
For the Tigers, Lauren Grummet notched 17 kills and 16 digs. Lauren Loban, Alex Brown and Ashley Weber added 16, 13 and eight kills, respectively.
"We're a really young team, but there are advantages to youth," Thomason said. "We got a lot stronger and a lot faster. In some areas, we have changed 360 degrees.
"For example, we had trouble blocking at the beginning of the season. By the end, we were used to playing with each other and we were a stronger blocking team."
In the second half of their season, the Quakers were able to defeat league co-champion Cornell, 3-0. They also challenged Harvard and Yale to five games.
Last night's game marked the end of the four-year careers of Caton and Natalie Francis. Both seniors believe that Penn will have a strong future.
"They definitely have the talent to go far and carry on the winning attitude," Francis said. "It's kind of like a call to duty and they're answering that call."
"We have a bunch of talented young girls," Caton said. "I've really seen what they could do this year, and their potential is wide open. I think if the girls continue to play together and work hard, they will definitely be successful in years to come."
Thomason, who will continue to be a strong force next season, has set strong goals.
"Our goals are still the same as they have always been," Thomason said. "We have a good chance of winning league next year and gaining the automatic bid."
Although four teams will split the title, only one can garner the Ivy League's automatic bid for the NCAA Tournament. This weekend, the teams will face each other in a playoff to decide the Ivy League's NCAA Tournament representative.
