The Penn volleyball team could have used an easy match after taking 3-0 beatings from Ivy League rivals Brown and Yale this weekend.
Instead, the Quakers faced Atlantic 10 powerhouse Temple last night and could not hold off a relentless Owls offense, falling 3-1.
Penn (8-15, 5-6 Ivy) surprised the Owls (20-9, 9-2 A-10) a bit in the first game. Temple took the lead, but the Quakers soon pulled even and forced a Temple time-out. The Owls could not adjust, though, as Penn sophomore setter Linda Zhang landed a spectacular kill to seal the first game for Penn, 30-27.
"We've struggled to come out strong in the last couple of matches," head coach Kerry Carr said. "We're trying to play better as a team, and I think we did that in game one."
By the second game, though, the Quakers had been figured out. The Penn hitters were unable to find any sort of rhythm as Temple ran away with the game, 30-19.
Carr emphasized that timing was the main problem of her team's offense.
"Game two our passing broke down," she said. "The middles have to be up early on the jump all the time, and they just weren't there."
After that, the Owls never looked back, taking the next two games 30-17 and 30-25.
Penn made a late run at forcing a decisive fifth game, taking a 25-24 lead, but the Owls responded, tallying six unanswered points to put the match away.
"We kind of let down after [the first game], so it's consistency that we need to work on," rightside hitter Laura Black said.
"What we're working on is getting all of the components of the game together at the same time."
Black led the Quakers last night with 14 kills and also picked up 12 digs.
Penn's offensive efficiency dropped dramatically over the course of the match. While the Quakers hit for a .355 percentage in game one, they managed just a .073 average in the next three games combined.
Despite the Quakers' woes on offense, Carr seemed optimistic at how her players handled the Owls' formidable serving attack.
"It was as simple as a serving/passing match, and even though they had the better offense, we were able to handle it," she said. "We dug out everything they had."
Penn's final three matchups of the year will all be against conference opponents. The Quakers will not be able to relax, though, as they take on Cornell this Friday at the Palestra.
The Bears are currently 12-0 in Ivy League play and have lost just three times all year.
Any Cornell win or Yale loss will clinch an outright title for the Bears, who shared the Ivy League crown with three other schools last year.
Even so, Carr said that winning out is her players' goal for the rest of the season.
"We feel that if we play the way we did in game one and pick up our defense, we'll be fine."
PENN 30 19 17 25 -- 1Temple 27 30 30 30 -- 3
