For fans of Penn volleyball, Tuesday’s tilt against Delaware was the kind of game best watched between your fingers with a cringe on your face. Every match point was a near miss for the Quakers (4-4), and the squad was unable to claw its way after conceding the first two sets to the Blue Hens (5-5) and went on to lose 3-1 despite exceptional offensive play from senior captains Alex Caldwell and Alexis Genske, who carried the attack on the court with 18 and 12 kills, respectively. In the first set, Delaware jumped out to a 10-6 lead early, leaving Penn no chance but to chip away at the deficit point by point.

It's hard for any foray into the topic of "veteran leadership" to hit on something new, but Penn volleyball coach Kerry Carr finds herself with a truly unprecedented embarrassment of riches. Carr, the winningest and longest-tenured coach in program history, has rarely appointed more than two captains during her 18 years at the helm, and never more than three.

Wednesday marks the onset of another week of battle for one of Penn’s premier fall teams, field hockey.

Last year, Penn women’s cross country finished last in the Ivy League. This is an indisputable fact. In their year-end Heptagonal meet, the de facto Ivy championship competition, the Red and Blue only managed to finish eighth in the Ancient Eight. And while any single meet result should be taken with a grain of salt, this sort of result would be the elephant in the room.

The Quakers finally had a chance to play on their home court this weekend. In fact, they had several. Hosting the Crowne Plaza Philadelphia Invitational, Penn volleyball defeated Fairfield in its home opener on Friday night before steamrolling Delaware State Saturday morning to extend its winning streak to four.

The fall season may still be quite young for Penn Athletics, but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been any surprises. So now, with most Red and Blue teams having gotten their seasons under way, we take the opportunity to talk about the squads that have made us reconsider our preseason expectations.

The first big road trip of the season is always a challenge, and while Penn women’s soccer’s weekend in South Carolina was by no means perfect, the two games the squad played allowed for plenty of causes for optimism. Despite picking up their first loss of the season on Friday night in a 2-1 game against No.

If you like high-scoring and record-breaking field hockey, then Friday’s match between Penn and St. Joseph’s would have been a great watch.

The Red and Blue finally arrived back home on Friday night, and they brought their winning ways with them. After closing out its season-opening doubleheader with two straight wins last weekend, Penn volleyball defeated Fairfield in its home opener, 3-1, on Friday to extend its winning streak to three contests. The Quakers (3-2) were paced as usual by seniors Alexis Genske, who tallied 15 kills, and Alex Caldwell, who had 12 kills without an error.

Penn field hockey will be back in action for its second weekend of play when the Red and Blue take on intracity opponents St. Joseph’s and Temple on Friday and Sunday.

Off to the races they go. After a brief layoff following the end of track and field season, Penn's cross country teams are eagerly anticipating their season opener at the Big 5 Invitational this Friday.

Every fall, a new batch of wide-eyed freshmen storms the campus to start their college careers. For Penn volleyball, the case is no different.

The Palestra may be known as the Cathedral of College Basketball, but this weekend its occupants will pay homage to gods of another sport.

And they’re off.

On the surface, a 2-2 record in the opening weekend doesn’t seem like it would lend much meaningful insight into such a seemingly enigmatic team. But actually, it’s the first truly promising sign that the team is zeroing in on its exciting potential.

Three games into Nicole Van Dyke’s tenure, Penn women’s soccer is firing on all cylinders. And to hear her players tell it, most of the credit should go to the first year coach.

For many of Penn’s fall sports teams, there exists the recurring theme that youth plays a key role.