The Penn volleyball team needed at least one win last weekend against Brown to keep alive any reasonable hope of a winning Ivy League record this season.
The Quakers proceeded to get swept in both matches and fall into a tie for fourth-place with Princeton.
The Quakers (8-14, 5-6 Ivy) came into Friday night's game in Providence, R.I., tied with Brown at 5-4 in Ivy play.
However, the Quakers could not get anything going, as they were soundly defeated by the Bears (10-12, 7-4 Ivy) in three games, 30-19, 30-22, 37-35.
The following night in New Haven, Conn., the Quakers could not do any better, falling to Yale (18-3, 9-2 Ivy) in three games, 30-24, 30-11, 30-26.
"I thought we came out to slow starts in both matches," Penn coach Kerry Carr said. "We're having trouble finding a rhythm at the beginning of our matches."
In both matches, the Red and Blue struggled mightily in the first two games.
The second game against Yale, in which the Quakers scored only 11 points, was the team's worst loss of the season.
Still, the Quakers did not concede the matches even when they were down 2-0; the third game was the closest on both nights.
The Quakers managed to push Brown well past 30 points in the final set before losing the match.
Sophomore Laura Black led the Quakers with 10 kills in each match. Freshman Kathryn Turner added 10 kills against Brown.
Senior Michelle Kauffman returned to the lineup Friday after suffering an injury against Columbia three weeks ago. She led the Penn defense with 21 digs against Brown and 11 against Yale.
Carr was happy with her team's determination.
"In the third game of both matches, Yale and Brown, we played real hard," she said.
The Quakers now must win all three remaining Ivy League matches to finish above .500, including one against a Cornell team which is undefeated in Ivy play.
Carr believes her team has a shot to achieve this -- if the Quakers play to their potential.
"I think I have the best passing team in the league," she said. "They show up half the time."
The team will certainly need to show up at the Palestra next weekend if there is any chance it will finish with a winning Ivy record.
But first the team must turn its attention to its final non-conference match.
The Quakers visit local rival Temple tomorrow night. Game time is 7 p.m.
