 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Penn Falls In NCAA First Round
Created: 12/5/2003 7:59:24 PM
|
Release courtesy of Penn Athletic Communications
 The
Penn volleyball team ended the 2003 season with another trip to the NCAA Volleyball
Tournament. What made this campaign different from the previous two was that the
Quakers won their first game in the NCAA Tournament in 10 attempts. Despite a
furious comeback in game four, Penn fell to Pitt, 3-1, to end the season with
a 20-7 overall record. The game scores were 28-30, 30-16,
30-18, 30-26.
"We came out strong," Head Coach Kerry Major Carr said. "It's our
third time here and we came out with an attitude that we could win.
"I thought we played really well right from the start," Carr continued.
"Pitt didn't make any errors and I think it wore us down. I am so proud of
my team and the fact that they never gave up."
The Quakers jumped all over the Pitt Panthers in game one, taking a quick 5-1
lead. The Panthers used a balanced attack to get back into the game and tied it
at 7 and then again at 13. From there on out, a back-and-fourth battle ensued.
Senior Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan recorded a kill down the line and junior Lynzy
Caton had two-straight points for the Quakers, but Pitt took its first lead of
the game at 20-19. Kwak-Hefferan came up with another tough shot down the line
and Penn went up, 22-20, before the Panthers called a timeout. Despite taking
the first point after the break, Penn went ahead, 25-22, before Pitt regrouped
and tied the game at 25 on a Penn error. The teams went point-for-point for the
remainder of the match until Kwak-Hefferan ended the battle with a kill to give
the Quakers a 30-28 victory - their first in the NCAA Tournament.
"We knew that Pitt started off slow in first games, " senior Heather
Janssen said following her final collegiate match. "We were ready to jump
on them, and that's just what we did."
Unfortunately, the Quakers could not sustain the Pitt offense as Big East Player
of the Year Wendy Hatlestad lit up the scoreboard in game two and finished the
match with 29 kills and 21 digs. Penn fell in games two and three, 30-16, and
30-18 - scores the team hadn't seen since an early-season meeting with then No.
7 Pepperdine - before coming back on a mission in game four.
The Red and Blue tied the game at three on a kill by sophomore Cara Thomason ,
who ended the match with 11 kills and 21 digs. Penn tied it up again at 6 on a
perfectly putdown ball by Kwak-Hefferan, but that would be the closest the Quakers
would come. Yet despite Penn being down 24-17, the Quakers never gave up and made
a serious comeback led by two kills from Thomason and two from Kwak-Hefferan.
Penn got as close as 28-26, but a service error by freshman Liz Hurst and a kill
by Hatlestad gave Pitt the first-round victory.
(What kept us in game four) "was our strong, tenacious defense," Kwak-Hefferan
said. "Our defense is so strong that it can keep us in matches against bigger
teams. It's definitely something we're really proud of."
For the match, the Quakers were led by Janssen's 14 kills and Thomason's 21 digs.
Three other Penn student-athletes saw double-figures, as Kwak-Hefferan had 11
kills and 13 digs in her final collegiate match, and freshman Meredith Damore
added 15 digs, while senior Meghan Schloat had 13 digs and 52 assists.
Schloat ends her career at Penn with the season record for assists with 1,276.
Kwak-Hefferan leaves Penn as the career leader in kills (1,298) and second in
digs (1,316). The Quakers won their third-straight Ivy League title and made their
third-straight NCAA Tournament appearance. The third Ivy title marked the first
time in Penn volleyball history that the Quakers took three-straight championships.
Penn has won eight Ivy League titles since the start of official Ivy League play
in 1974.
2003 Final Standings
|
|
Related Schools: Pennsylvania
|
|
Related Sports: Volleyball
|
|
*This Article has been archived.*
|
Click here for a printer friendly version
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
 |
|
|
