When the volleyball team went up to Ithaca, N.Y., to face Cornell, the Quakers were easily dispatched for their fifth-straight loss.
But that was three long weeks ago. Penn's gone 4-1 since then, and when the Big Red (7-11, 6-2 Ivy) visit the Palestra along with Columbia (6-12, 0-8) this weekend, they'll be greeted by a squad that's won seven consecutive sets.
It was "really an enigma for us," acting coach Ryan Goodwin said of the Oct. 10 loss in upstate New York. "We didn't play like ourselves."
Madison Wojchiechowski, Penn's libero who is second in the Ivy League in digs per set, concurred.
"They didn't necessarily beat us. We sort of beat ourselves," she said.
Wojchiechowski's competitiveness will be on display against Cornell tomorrow, as the Big Red's Megan Mushovic - whom Wojchiechowski views as her biggest adversary - is fourth nationally in digs per set.
"She's a really good player, but I also don't think that she's their whole team," Wojchiechowski said.
Mushovic posed problems for the Quakers (8-11, 4-3) last time, racking up 36 digs in the match and combining with Ivy League blocking leader Kelly Hansen to present a formidable defensive front.
The Quakers' solution is sophomore setter Megan Tryon.
"Her choices will allow us some more freedom to take better swings at the ball versus less blockers and be able to angle the balls away from [Mushovic]," Goodwin said.
Tryon has been learning to watch the blockers and getting to know her own hitters better so she can choose the perfect spot for her sets.
"She's done a lot of film study with that and looked really critically at her game and made huge upgrades," Goodwin said. "I'm really proud of the way she's evolved in the last two weeks."
Tonight's results could make tomorrow's matchup the biggest of the season for both Penn and Cornell.
If the Quakers take care of business against Columbia - as they did on Oct. 11 and in 42 of 43 meetings all-time - and Cornell falls to defending champion Princeton, then the winner of tomorrow's match will secure third place in the Ivy League with only two weeks to go.
"They're a great team, and we aren't going to underestimate them," Wojchiechowski said of the Big Red.
"But I think that we have confidence that we can come back and fight hard in order to beat them."
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