A back injury and a few cases of the flu gave the freshmen of the Penn volleyball team an opportunity to shine last weekend at the Sheraton Invitational.
The Quakers (4-3) took second place at the Palestra, notching wins over Elon, Fordham and St. John's. Their only loss came against Manhattan in the first match of the tournament.
Due to the back injury of junior Lauren Carter and untimely cases of the flu that struck seniors Stacey Carter and Kai Gonsorowski, Penn coach Kerry Carr was forced to give the new freshmen even more time on the court than she had anticipated. This situation appeared to have little effect on the team, as several novices had outstanding performances.
"All of the freshmen stepped up to the challenge," Carr said.
Freshman outside-hitter Ashley Smith was moved to right-hitter in place of the injured Carter and filled the position extremely well, hitting over .400 against Fordham and finishing the second day with 10 kills.
"She did amazing," Carr said. "That's really encouraging to see. I'm psyched."
In addition, freshman outside-hitter Cara Thomason recorded 18 kills and 20 digs in the win over Elon and performed well throughout the tournament.
"She was a standout because for a freshman to come and have 18 kills, that was huge," Carr said.
The only thing that stopped the Red and Blue from snagging their third-straight Sheraton Invitational title was the first-match loss to Manhattan. The Jaspers improved to 11-1 this season, despite a notable effort by Penn junior Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan, who led the Quakers with 16 kills.
The first game against Manhattan was very close, but Penn fell, 30-26. The Quakers won the next game decisively, 30-20, before dropping the next two, 30-16 and 34-32.
The defense was led by senior Elizabeth Watty with 26 digs and Thomason with 21, while Thomason, Heather Janssen and Michelle Kauffman each recorded 9 kills for the Quakers' offense.
The Red and Blue beat Fordham easily in three games, winning their second match of the season 30-23, 30-22 and 30-18. The Quakers recorded 10 service aces and hit .239 as a team. Smith and junior Heather Janssen each hit over .400 for the match.
Penn performed very well against Elon University in their third match, dropping the first game 32-30, but winning the next three 30-25, 30-21 and 30-27. Five players recorded double digits in digs: Thomason (20), Meghan Schloat (19), Kwak-Hefferan (18), Watty (12), and Smith (11). Offensively, Kwak-Hefferan, Janssen and Smith all finished the day with double digits in kills.
The Quakers' most satisfying victory came in the last game of the tournament against St. John's. Once again the team came back to win three straight games 30-20, 30-25 and 30-20, after dropping the first to the Red Storm, 30-28.
St. John's "had the best athletes in the gym," Carr said. "It was huge for us to come back from a game-one loss and win the next three games."
Stacey Carter managed to lead the Quakers despite her illness, recording 16 kills in her sole appearance of the day.
Kwak-Hefferan, who recorded 14 kills, was named to the all-tournament team for her strong play.
"Kwak's performance is always there, always top. I'm never surprised anymore," Carr said.
Judging from the Sheraton Invitational, the Quakers have every reason to expect great things from the young team. The Red and Blue travel to the Wagner Tournament on Sept. 27 to take on Fairfield, Albany and Wagner.
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