After playing on the road for two straight weekends and playing six matches in front of hostile crowds, the women's volleyball team gets to enjoy a weekend at home.
Penn (1-5) will host the Sheraton Invitational this weekend at the Palestra. Ten matches will be played over the course of today and tomorrow among Canisius (4-6), Pepperdine (3-5), St. Francis (1-10) and Towson (13-1).
For the Quakers, this will be their last tune-up and opportunity to gain momentum before the Ivy League season begins. The team will travel to Princeton next Friday.
While its record is lopsided in the wrong direction, the team is not getting down on itself. The Quakers are trying to put their negative experiences behind them while simultaneously learning from their mistakes and their strengths.
"Personally, I like to take it a new day, a new week, a new match," senior captain Cara Thomason said. "Putting those things behind us, always looking forward."
The confidence that coach Kerry Carr has been preaching seems to finally be paying dividends for the team's collective ego and mental approach.
"To play our best, we have to believe; they just decided to believe this week." Carr said. "They decided to say, 'Hey, we can do this.'"
Freshman Kathryn Turner reiterated the perceptions of her coach.
"We were more upbeat this week, more excited to play," Turner said.
The four teams the Quakers will face show varying degrees of talent. Today, they will take on Canisius at 3 p.m. and Pepperdine at 7:30 p.m. Tomorrow, they will compete against St. Francis at 12:30 p.m. and Towson at 5:30 p.m.
St. Francis and Canisius are teams beatable teams for the Quakers, especially given how they have struggled against Penn in the past.
Towson has proved to be one of the best teams on the East Coast this season. But the headliner for the tournament is surely Pepperdine, an annual national contender and a top-30 team in the country.
The volleyball team is certainly excited and prepared for the competition though.
"If we execute our game plan it doesn't matter who is on the other side of the net," Thomason said.
Coach Carr was a little more realistic about her squad's chances to win this weekend.
"We'll have to stretch and play our best to beat Towson." Carr said. Similarly, for Pepperdine, "If we do play well and they don't expect some of the changes we're making, we have a shot."
No matter how well the Quakers play during the tournament, Carr said it best, "this weekend we will be tested."
