Penn volleyball has been going the long haul lately, but their efforts paid off with two back-to-back-five-set wins against Harvard and Dartmouth.
Saturday’s matchup against the Big Green saw Penn come out on top in a 3-2 win. The Quakers consistently built their lead in the first half allowing them to win the first two sets. Although the third and fourth set saw a drop in momentum, the Red and Blue rallied for a 16-14 fifth set win. Despite winning their season finale, the Quakers, sitting at fifth in the conference, just barely missed out on the Ivies.
The first set was a back and forth battle with Penn leading, but never by much. But any attempt by the Big Green to jump ahead was often blocked by sophomore outside hitter Zada Sanger.
“She took care of balls that she was supposed to take off,” coach Meredith Schamun said. “But then she also made something out of a lot of balls that were really tough which helped stabilize us in the front row.”
The first set saw Penn secure a solid 6-3 lead after an impressive strike from sophomore right-side hitter Bella Rittenberg. Winners and kills continued to come from the Red and Blue, however a clear lead was never established until Dartmouth served into the net at 20-20. From there, the Quakers ran with the unforced error and won the first set 25-21. Sanger was crucial here, scoring two of the last four points.
The second set saw a similar start with neither team establishing a lead until late into the set. At 21-19, Penn was able to end a long, back-and-forth rally off of a weak dig from the Big Green. From there, the Quakers stormed to a 25-19 second set. The set’s final point ended with an assist from freshmen setter Emery Moore and a hammer from freshmen right-side hitter Jenniya Lane.
Despite fighting for a 2-0 lead in the first two sets, halftime saw the Quaker’s lose their momentum.
“Dartmouth definitely made some changes and they got into a rhythm,” Schamun said. “That was the Dartmouth we’ve seen before and we got a little quiet and timid.”
The third set saw the Big Green quickly gain a lead over Penn after hitting a surprise winner that found the back corner of Penn’s court. At 7-9, the Quakers struggled to find their footing in what could’ve been a straight set win. Ultimately, the Big Green sealed the deal on the third set with a beautiful kill that brought the set score to 13-25 and the game score to 1-2. They continued to build on their lead in the fourth set, winning 18-25.
The season finale came down to a fifth set tiebreak that once again, was very back and forth.
“The goal of that last set was to score as many points from the service line in a row to stop the back and forth,” Schamun said. “And then we really emphasized being ready to pick up some hard balls and not giving them easy kills.”
Locked in a 14-14 tie, the Quakers were able to secure a 16-14 lead after Rittengberg nailed a hammer. Finally, the Red and Blue brought it home after a long rally that ended with Dartmouth hitting the ball into the scoreboard. The win against Dartmouth comes just 24 hours after a reverse sweep against Harvard. Despite these two impressive wins on the road, the Quakers will end their season here.
“I’m really proud of going into other people’s gyms and pulling off these nail biting five setters,” Schamun said. “It shows our resiliency and it’s momentum we’ll take into next season.”
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