Quakers fail to complete sweep of Princeton

After the Penn volleyball team's 3-1 loss to Princeton in the season finale, at least one thing is clear -- it was not due to lack of desire.

With the prospect of completing a season sweep of the Tigers (17-8, 8-6 Ivy) the Quakers (10-16, 7-7) did not leave anything on the court last night at the Palestra. But they fell a little bit short.

It was "a good effort" according to senior captain Cara Thomason, who led the team with 17 kills and a .324 hitting percentage in her last-ever match. "We played tough. I couldn't have hoped for anything better."

This refusal to quit seemed to be a theme throughout the entire season.

"We could have gone out a bunch of different ways [this season]," coach Kerry Carr said. She added that the team faced "a lot of adversity. We could have faded half-way through the season."

Carr specifically referred to a devastating injury to senior captain Michelle Kauffman -- an anterior cruciate ligament tear that could have very well ended her season, and collegiate career, prematurely.

"I told myself I was going to play again," said Kauffman, who had eight kills along with a solid .300 hitting percentage. "I trained hard. I was determined to come back."

It was fitting, then, that sophomore setter Linda Zhang returned to the court shortly after exiting with a sprained ankle.

"It was the last match," said Zhang, who had 38 assists. "I wanted to be on the floor, and a sprained ankle wasn't going to stop me."

But it was not Penn's setting game that was the problem. The Red and Blue simply could not stand up to the Tigers' dominant serving.

"They came out pretty strong," Carr said. "They served us pretty tough."

However, Carr did not want to make excuses, adding "Could we have passed better? Yes. Could we have hit harder? Yes. We didn't have everything firing like on Friday [in a victory against Cornell]."

After the Quakers tied the match with a 30-21 victory in the second game, Princeton took two consecutive games to secure a victory.

But with no Ivy League title implications in this game, the storyline revolved around the seniors playing their final game in Red and Blue.

Kauffman and Thomason are the only Quakers graduating, but their performance and leadership on and off the court will be sorely missed.

Carr emphasized the importance of Kauffman's commitment to play through injury and the captains' ability to "make people better."

Thomason and Kauffman will miss being part of the team as well.

"I'm feeling a lot more emotional," Thomason said thoughtfully. "But that [loss] definitely makes it bittersweet."

"I have mixed emotions," Kauffman said. "I'm happy to be done, but it hasn't quite hit me yet my volleyball career is over. I wouldn't give it up for the world."

Princeton 30 21 30 30 -- 3PENN 20 30 24 26 -- 1

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