PHILADELPHIA - The University of Pennsylvania women's volleyball squad (7-7, 2-3 Ivy) heads on the road this weekend to take on two New York Ivy League foes. The Red and Blue will head to New York City on Friday to take on Columbia (5-9, 0-5 Ivy) at 7 p.m. before traveling upstate to Ithaca on Saturday to play Cornell (6-8, 2-3 Ivy) at 5 p.m. The Quakers will be looking to build off of their momentum from the 3-1 win at home against Dartmouth last Saturday and will have a big opportunity in front of them. With two wins this weekend, Penn would solidify themselves at number four in the Ivy League standings as well as give them three straight wins headed into the second half of league play.
About Penn
* The Quakers are 1-2 on the road in Ivy League play this season; their lone win coming against Brown.
*Penn went 1-1 last weekend losing a tough five-set match to Harvard before bouncing back against Dartmouth capping off their 22nd straight win against The Big Green.
* Freshman
Parker Jones leads the team in kills with 186 kills which ranks fourth in the Ivy. She earned a career high 22 in the team's win against Dartmouth at home last Saturday.
* Another freshman,
Raven Sulaimon has earned more playing time the last few weeks. In the Quakers' last three games, Sulaimon has earned 28 kills hitting .263.
* Team captain
Sydney Morton has been distributing the ball exceptionally well over. The senior has accounted for 40 or more assists in the last three games including an exceptional 49 in the win against Dartmouth. She ranks third in the Ivy League in assists hitting 9.63 per set. Morton is just one of three players in the Ivy to have over 500 assists this season.
* Also a team captain, senior
Kendall Covington ranks fourth in the Ivy League with a hit percentage of .358. Covington has hit above .300 in the team's last three matches. Penn is 2-1 in those games.
* Sophomore
Caroline Furrer ranks second in the Ivy League in aces as she has hit 22 this season. That's an average of .39 per set which ranks fourth. The Quakers' libero has played a large role defensively as she leads the team with 184 digs which ranks fifth among the rest of the league.
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Scouting the Lions
* After finishing 9-5 in the Ivy League last season, the Lions have already matched that loss total through five games as they have had a rough 0-5 opening.
* Columbia's five losses have come at the hands of Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Yale, and Brown, three of which have been 3-0 losses.
* Reigning Ivy League Co-Rookie of the Year and First Team All-Ivy League selection Chichi Ikwuazom number two in the Ivy League in hitting percentage at .397. Last season, as a rookie, Ikwuazom hit .427 to finish the year fourth in the NCAA.
* The Lions have another rookie that is off to a good start on their roster. Jamie Dailey ranks second on the team with 108 kills and was named Ivy League rookie of the week last month.
*Columbia leads the Ivy in aces as the Lions have hit 1.81 per set, totaling 94 on the year. Grace Campbell ranks second league-wide hitting .45 per set.
* The Quakers lead the all-time series 50-8, but have lost three of the last four.
Scouting The Big Red
* Kiley McPeek leads the Ivy League with 4.64 digs per set. As a team, the Big Red lead the conference as they have nearly 900 digs this season.
* While one of the better teams defensively, The Big Red also fair well on the offensive side of the ball as they have the second most kills in the conference behind just Princeton. However, they are hitting just .176.
*Emily Wemhoff leads Cornell in kills hitting 3.25 per set. That ranks fifth in they Ivy League.
* The Quakers lead the all-time series with Cornell 45-23 and are 6-4 in the last 10 meetings.
