The Penn volleyball team came into this weekend's Sheraton-Penn Invitational at the Palestra having spent the past two weekends at tournaments in North Carolina and California. Tired and with a losing record, the team was in desperate need of some home cooking.
And returning home helped, as the Quakers swept the three-game tournament with victories over Binghamton, Quinnipiac and Fairleigh Dickinson.
On Saturday night, Penn (4-5) jumped out of the gate and defeated the Binghamton Bearcats (3-10) in four games 30-22, 23-30, 30-27, 30-26. It was a strong team effort as four Quakers reached double digits in kills and junior outside hitters Laura Black (16 Kills, 18 Digs) and Anna Shlimak (14 Kills, 18 Digs) had double-doubles. Both Black and Shlimak had very strong tournament performances.
Winning their first game of the tournament, according to coach Kerry Carr, "was big," especially against a "higher-level team such as the Bearcats." Carr was also pleased with Penn's offensive
attack.
Yesterday, the Red and Blue played two games. In the afternoon, they made quick work of the winless Quinnipiac Bobcats 30-14, 30-13, 30-21, showing no complacency after a big win the previous night.
Carr implemented a new three middle offense that was "much faster and more complicated." This new offense had the Bobcats on their toes as they never got any momentum going and consistently seemed confused and a step too slow.
Captain Liz Hurst was in high spirits after the match.
"Nothing beats getting a win," she said. "It definitely lifts our spirits and picks us up. It makes us want it more and more."
Now, the Quakers must worry about how best to maintain their momentum.
We need to keep a "positive attitude, high energy, working on the little things and lots of communication," Hurst said.
The senior did all the little things, logging 35 digs for the tournament and was constantly cheering and talking with her team.
In the evening, the Quakers finished the clean sweep of the tournament by beating Fairleigh Dickinson (12-5).
Continuing to play an athletic and aggressive game, the Quakers won despite losing a very close first game, 29-31. After reaching 29 points in the first two games and needing just one more point to win, Carr called a timeout in the second to make sure her team would convert on the match point. She told her team to have heart and believe that they could win.
"We went out there and changed up our attitude, which was key," junior Laura Black said.
Penn closed it out, 30-25 and never looked back, easily winning the next two games, 30-19, 30-22.
The Red and Blue will look to build on its momentum in Wednesday's match against rival Villanova.
"Consistent energy is what's key for our team," Black said, looking forward. "This is probably the best positive chemistry we've had in a while."
