The Penn volleyball team went to Washington D.C. and got what it came for - its first win.
The Quakers (3-4) beat Lafayette 3-0 on Friday at the American University Tournament but didn't stop there. They went on to sweep both Army and Navy before falling to American in five games in the finals to take second place in the tournament.
"We were so disappointed last weekend when we lost all three matches," sophomore Natalie Drucker said. "We just really needed to get our first 'W.' "
In their final match, the Quakers went up against a strong Eagles team who had won twenty straight matches on their home court. The Eagles also feature a pair of 6-foot-8 middle blockers. Nevertheless the Red and Blue gave them a tough match, grabbing five blocks in game four and losing 15-6 in the fifth and final game.
"I'm not disappointed with the loss at all," coach Kerry Carr said. "We knew that they were better than us. But we still had a chance to win if we played at our best. We met their challenge head-on and almost came away with a victory."
The tournament looked more like what one can expect when the Ivy League season rolls around.
"Our strategy for this weekend was completely different from the week before," Carr said. "Instead of mixing up the lineup I kept a lot of the starters in. Last weekend we lost a bit of our flow when I changed a lot of different things."
Carr continued to experiment with personnel at the setter position. She played both senior Linda Zhang and freshman Megan Tryon and even had both on the court at the same time.
Carr did, however, go to the senior Zhang in the fifth game against American when the tournament was put on the line.
Freshman Julia Swanson, Zhang and Drucker all garnered plenty of playing time this weekend along with seniors Laura Black, Anna Shlimak and junior Kathryn Turner.
"There is a lot of jostling going around in practice," Carr said. "They are fighting for starting positions all the time. In no way would I say that is my starting lineup."
Drucker made the all-tournament team, along with Swanson. The latter recorded 20 kills in the final match against the Eagles.
"It's fun to watch her take whatever you teach her that week in practice and take it straight out there onto the court," Carr said.
But wins, however they are gotten, are wins.
"We have another weekend to improve and I have a laundry list of improvements. . So, no we are not playing at our best but we are playing very well."
