Penn volleyball coach Kerry Carr still cannot figure out her team. After a roller coaster ride through another weekend of league play, the Quakers have both progressed and regressed.
The Red and Blue ventured on an Ivy League road trip this weekend, playing at Harvard on Friday and at Dartmouth on Saturday.
The trip started off well, with a 3-2 victory over Harvard. On the second leg of the journey however, the Quakers slipped up, losing 3-0 to the Big Green.
Against the Crimson (8-7, 2-2 Ivy), Penn stared down a 2-1 deficit after losing the second game, 30-19, and the third, 30-21. Yet Carr's confidence still radiated throughout the games.
"I always felt the whole match that we were going to come out on top," Carr said. "It was our mistakes, giving the other team points."
In the fourth game, the Red and Blue (6-8, 1-2) built multiple leads but could not fend off a relentless Crimson team at first. But with the score tied at 26, the Quakers put their feet down and won 30-27.
By the fifth game, Penn had established control. The Quakers quickly established an early 5-1 lead and never allowed Harvard to seriously threaten until late in the game at 13-11. A timely kill by sophomore middle blocker Stephanie Gwin preceded an error by the Crimson, letting Penn clinch its first Ivy League victory of the season with a 3-2 win.
However, the sweet taste in the Quakers' mouths after the comeback victory against Harvard was quickly washed away by the stale taste of the bagel that Dartmouth handed them.
"The match came down to defense," Carr said of the loss to the Big Green. "It was disappointing to have them outdig us."
Dartmouth (8-6, 2-2) dominated the entire match, winning the first game 30-25, the second one 30-24, and the final one 30-27.
"In all three of the games, I felt that we weren't being as scrappy as they were," junior team captain Linda Zhang said.
A major disappointment this weekend was the Quakers' underperforming defense.
"We've won Ivy Championships with our defense," Carr said. "I think we'll have a more confident and more disciplined team on the floor Friday night," against Columbia (5-7, 0-3), an ailing team who have lost three in a row.
