Yale overpowers Penn volleyball in four-set match

Penn volleyball fell to a veteran Yale volleyball team at home in the Quakers' third conference game of the season, with the Bulldogs taking the match 3-1. 

Following a loss to Princeton, the Red and Blue (8-5, 2-2) were looking for redemption in their match-up against the Bulldogs (8-3, 3-0). A win would mark Penn’s first home Ivy League victory. Coming off of an impressive 2023 season where the team clinched the Ivy League Championship and a ticket to the NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament, Yale was going to be no simple obstacle for the Quakers. Strong freshman performances from setter Emery Moore and outside hitter Jenna Garner led the first set but weren’t enough to stop the consistent offensive performance of the Bulldogs. 

Penn’s offense was a highlight of the first set with electric connections between Moore and sophomore outside hitter Zada Sanger as well as freshman outside hitter Ellie Siskin, giving Penn the momentum early. Key plays forced back-to-back Yale timeouts, but those didn’t slow down the Quakers as freshman middle blocker Jenniya Lane came out of the break with a fierce kill. The battle to claim set one came down to a series of clever plays by Moore showing off setter dumps and cross-court sets to give the Quakers the advantage of 25-23.

The second set followed a similar script but marked the beginning of the end for Penn’s run. With an unstoppable effort from Sanger earning her 6th and 7th kills of the night, Penn claimed an early lead. However, the Bulldogs pushed back fast, ending a series of long rallies by pulling ahead 6-4. Penn found a brief reprieve with Moore’s one-handed set to Sanger putting points back on the board in favor of Penn. Shortly after, freshman middle blocker Adell Murray tied the match up. Despite strong efforts, unfortunate mistakes from Penn and close line calls in Yale’s favor gave the Bulldogs the 25-21 win. 

Following back-and-forth battles and impressive performances from both teams in sets one and two, the Quakers looked to reload in set three. Sanger was consistently a go-to offensive weapon for the Quakers throughout the match. Although trailing 5-0 at the start of set three, a vicious kill by Sanger helped the Quakers find their rhythm. Sanger finished the night with 14 kills and two blocks. Another offensive standout for the Quakers was sophomore right-side hitter Bella Rittenburg. Rittenburg tallied nine kills along with five digs that helped push her team to continue competing with a seasoned and experienced Yale team. Ultimately the Quakers succumbed to the fierce Yale offense and fell short in set three, losing 25-14. 

Even with the odds stacked against them, the Quakers fought to the very end. On paper, Yale outperformed Penn in every offensive category in the team comparison statistics. However, the one category where the Quakers outperformed the Bulldogs was defensive digs. As a team, Penn tallied an impressive 64 digs against a Yale team that generated consistent offensive production. Garner had an impressive defensive performance in the loss, recording five kills and 16 digs in a match where she was initially only playing in the back row. Siskin also had a notable performance tallying 10 digs. 

Penn volleyball will next take the court against another familiar Ivy League foe on October 11 at 7 p.m. when the Quakers will host Dartmouth in the Palestra.