BOSTON -- After this weekend's play, as many as four teams can split the Ivy League volleyball title.
On Friday, Penn notched a 3-1 victory over Dartmouth, a team that challenged the Quakers in five games at the Palestra.
The Red and Blue (15-10, 7-6 Ivy) lost the first game to the Big Green, 30-23.
"In the first game, we weren't making tips and hits," Penn coach Kerry Carr said.
The Quakers came back in the second game and won, 30-27. In the third game, Penn fell behind, but junior outside hitter Cara Thomason recorded nine straight points, giving the Red and Blue a come-from-behind victory, 30-28.
The Los Angeles native tallied 17 kills, as did freshman Laura Black. Senior Lynzy Caton added 16 kills, while freshman Anna Shlimak added 12.
"Our offense is stronger than Dartmouth's," Carr said. "We had to play better defense to be able to run our offense."
Penn's defense proved key as Thomason, sophomore defensive specialist Meredith Damore and freshman setter Linda Zhang posted 26, 18 and 14 defensive digs, respectively. Zhang also contributed 56 assists, bringing her season total to 1,018.
As a team overall, the Red and Blue carried a 10-4 blocking edge over the Big Green (6-18, 3-11).
"We prepared for Dartmouth by practicing shots and tips," Carr said. "We used a drill called virus ball to prepare our defense."
On Saturday, the Quakers traveled to challenge Harvard (15-9, 10-4) in the Crimson's last game of the regular season.
"Harvard has one of the best offenses in the league," Carr said. "We had a hard time stopping them. We needed to play better defense, which would take their offense out."
In the first game, the Crimson gained a 24-13 advantage over the Red and Blue. The Quakers tightened the gap near the end, but Harvard eventually took the first game, 30-26.
"We were with them at the beginning of each game," Carr said. "Harvard would get big runs with six to nine points in the middle, and we would make mistakes in a row. We came back in the end, but it was too little too late."
Harvard swept the next two games, 30-22 and 30-25.
Penn junior Michelle Kauffman recorded 14 kills while Thomason tallied nine. Thomason, Damore and Zhang contributed 18, 12 and eight digs, respectively.
With the win, Harvard secured a share of the Ivy League title with Cornell (16-8, 10-4). Princeton (18-7, 9-4) and Yale (14-7, 9-4) also can claim portions of the title if they pull off wins tomorrow.
The Quakers will face the Tigers tomorrow at 7 p.m. in Princeton, N.J.
"Princeton is not making many mistakes," Carr said. "We are stronger physically than them, but eliminating mistakes will be our biggest hurdle."
