The Penn volleyball team likes to set goals.
And with the Ivy League Championship already checked off the list, the Quakers' new goal is to beat Princeton tonight in preparation for the NCAA tournament.
The Red and Blue (12-1) will travel to Princeton (10-3) tonight, in search of their 12th-straight win in their last regular season match. The team will also be looking to strengthen its skills heading into the grind of post-season play.
"We still need to improve and change part of our strategy," senior Stacey Carter said. "The teams we face[in the tournament]are going to be a lot different. We need to figure out how to adjust to play that style of a team."
Penn coach Kerry Carr also emphasized a focus on raising the level of play in order to be competitive in the tournament.
"We definitely have to step up on blocking," Carr said. "That's my main goal with improvement."
The Tigers are likely to provide a sufficient challenge for the Quakers, boasting a strong offense that leads in hitting percentage at .246.
Penn for its own part, ranks second in that category with a .244 hitting percentage.
"They have strong outside-hitters we're going to try to shut down," Carter said.
Penn was able to pull out a win over Princeton when the two teams met earlier in the season at the Palestra. After dropping the first game by four points, the Quakers came back to win the next three games, beating the Tigers 3-1.
But it's been a long time since that game, and Princeton looks to be a much stronger opponent the second time around.
The Tigers' 10 wins were enough to put them in second place in the Ivy League, justbarely ahead of third-place Harvard.
The Red and Blue's seniors -- Kai Gonsorowski, Liz Watty and Carter -- will be making their last regular season appearances in the match, a reality that has been overshadowed by the team's future goals.
"I really haven't let myself think about it," Carter said. "Last weekend I was focused on the Ivy championship. It hasn't hit me yet."
Regardless of their focus, the seniors will attempt to lead the league champions to a victory over a motivated Princeton squad.
"I have a feeling they're really going to want to beat us," Carter said. "[They want] to prove to themselves they can knock off the Ivy Champions."
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