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11062010_volleyball_cornell_michelle045
Volleyball vs. Cornell Credit: Michelle Bigony

Before the start of Friday night’s NCAA first-round match against Ohio, the public-address announcer at Cameron Indoor Stadium forgot to introduce Penn junior Logan Johnson.

It would prove to be that type of night for the Penn women’s volleyball team, which failed to make its mark on this year’s tournament. The Quakers lost in three straight sets — 21-25, 25-27 and 17-25.

For the Quakers (17-11, 12-2 Ivy), the loss to the Bobcats (23-12) means an exit from the NCAA tournament and an end to a season in which Penn took a share of the Ivy League title.

While Penn entered the game planning to stop Ohio’s outside attack, the Bobcats found ways to adapt.

“I think we contained their outside hitters,” coach Kerry Carr said. “One of their middles went off, and we couldn’t stop all of their hitters at one time.”

Indeed, it was Ohio’s movement mid-court which proved too difficult for the Quakers to handle.

“They had a very quick offense,” Carr said. “They ran a slide that was a lot quicker than we’ve seen.”

In the first set, Ohio controlled play at the net with six blocks, preventing the Red and Blue from getting into an offensive rhythm. The Quakers hit just .048 in the first match.

That comes as no surprise, considering the Bobcats were one of the best blocking teams in the country this season. Ohio’s defense was stifling even against No. 12 Duke on Saturday night, though the Bobcats eventually lost in a fifth-set tiebreaker.

“If you watched them against Duke the next night, they blocked Duke even more than they blocked us,” Carr said.

Even so, the Quakers were more clever around the net in the second set, allowing Penn’s offense to keep things closer.

“We were really diverse with our attacks and our combinations, and I think that showed through,” senior setter Megan Tryon said of the team’s game plan.

The two squads traded points until they were knotted at 25 apiece. A kill by Ohio senior Sue Jacobi and a misplayed serve by the Quakers gave the Bobcats the second set.

The 0-2 hole didn’t faze the Quakers, though.

“Just a couple more kills in that area, and we thought that we would have the third set,” Carr said.

Despite Penn’s resilience, the Bobcats jumped out to a 5-0 lead, which they never relinquished. The Quakers were unable to get in sync offensively, and had more errors (eight) than kills (seven) in the set.

The loss puts an abrupt cap on a strong season, but also on the careers of a talented group of seniors — including senior outside hitter Julia Swanson, who posted 11 kills and 10 digs.

“I can honestly say that I gave it my all, every single point,” Swanson said. “I think I can say the same thing for everyone on our team.”Before the start of Friday night’s NCAA first-round match against Ohio, the public-address announcer at Cameron Indoor Stadium forgot to introduce Penn junior Logan Johnson.

It would prove to be that type of night for the Penn women’s volleyball team, which failed to make its mark on this year’s tournament. The Quakers lost in three straight sets — 21-25, 25-27 and 17-25.

For the Quakers (17-11, 12-2 Ivy), the loss to the Bobcats (23-12) means an exit from the NCAA tournament and an end to a season in which Penn took a share of the Ivy League title.

While Penn entered the game planning to stop Ohio’s outside attack, the Bobcats found ways to adapt.

“I think we contained their outside hitters,” coach Kerry Carr said. “One of their middles went off, and we couldn’t stop all of their hitters at one time.”

Indeed, it was Ohio’s movement mid-court which proved too difficult for the Quakers to handle.

“They had a very quick offense,” Carr said. “They ran a slide that was a lot quicker than we’ve seen.”

In the first set, Ohio controlled play at the net with six blocks, preventing the Red and Blue from getting into an offensive rhythm. The Quakers hit just .048 in the first match.

That comes as no surprise, considering the Bobcats were one of the best blocking teams in the country this season. Ohio’s defense was stifling even against No. 12 Duke on Saturday night, though the Bobcats eventually lost in a fifth-set tiebreaker.

“If you watched them against Duke the next night, they blocked Duke even more than they blocked us,” Carr said.

Even so, the Quakers were more clever around the net in the second set, allowing Penn’s offense to keep things closer.

“We were really diverse with our attacks and our combinations, and I think that showed through,” senior setter Megan Tryon said of the team’s game plan.

The two squads traded points until they were knotted at 25 apiece. A kill by Ohio senior Sue Jacobi and a misplayed serve by the Quakers gave the Bobcats the second set.

The 0-2 hole didn’t faze the Quakers, though.

“Just a couple more kills in that area, and we thought that we would have the third set,” Carr said.

Despite Penn’s resilience, the Bobcats jumped out to a 5-0 lead, which they never relinquished. The Quakers were unable to get in sync offensively, and had more errors (eight) than kills (seven) in the set.

The loss puts an abrupt cap on a strong season, but also on the careers of a talented group of seniors — including senior outside hitter Julia Swanson, who posted 11 kills and 10 digs.

“I can honestly say that I gave it my all, every single point,” Swanson said. “I think I can say the same thing for everyone on our team.”

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