PHILADELPHIA - Looking to pick up some ground in the Ivy League standings, the University of Pennsylvania women's volleyball team (6-7, 1-3 Ivy) took on Harvard (9-4, 4-0 Ivy) on Friday night, a team they had swept last season. While the Quakers won the first set, it was the Crimson who persevered and came out on top as Penn fell 3-2 (25-21, 19-25, 18-25, 25-22, 6-15) in their Ivy League home opener. 

The Quakers will have little time to think about the loss as they will face off against Dartmouth on Saturday. The Red and Blue are riding a 21 match win streak against The Big Green and will look to use that to help them finish off the weekend with a win. 

*Inside the Numbers

*The Quakers came out firing. They out-hit Harvard .303 to .273 taking advantage of six errors to start the match off right. Unfortunately, in sets two and three, the Red and Blue failed to hit above .250 which turned out to be the difference. 

*Senior Hayley Molnar hit double-digit kills for the third time this season, 15, including two that sparked a 7-0 run in the fourth set to mount a comeback. The Quakers played off of Molnar's energy to complete the comeback winning the fourth set 25-22 and force a fifth set. Along with hitting 15 kills, Molnar had an impressive .500 hit percentage.

*Freshman Parker Jones was the other Quakers to hit double-kills, her third straight match doing so. Jones hit 13 on the night. 

*Another freshman, Raven Sulaimon, continued to play her way into the lineup. She ended the night with nine kills hitting an efficient .350.

*Michelle Pereira and Caroline Furrer accounted for 30 of the team's 56 digs. Pereira finished with 16, her season high, while Furrer wasn't far behind with 14. 

*Sydney Morton had over 40 assists for the second straight match. 

*How it Happened

While the Quakers swept Harvard last season, Friday night was going to be no easy task as Harvard, along with Princeton, was one of the only two teams still undefeated in Ivy League play. The Red and Blue would need a fast start, and they did just that. Down 13-11, the Quakers took advantage of three errors by the Crimosn and went on a 7-0 run to take the lead and take control to go up 18-13. While Harvard clawed back to make it 21-20, an ace by Parker Jones put the first set in the books, 25-21. 

The Quakers got off to the start they wanted as they were 6-0 when winning the first set this season. However, Harvard stepped up their level of play and the Red and Blue were unable to match it. Falling behind in a 7-1 run, Penn went down 16-8 and were unable to recover losing the set 25-18.

The third set went much like the second in which Harvard took control late, this time behind a 6-2 run to close out the set 25-19 to take a two set to one lead. 

Once again, the fourth set seemed to be going in that same direction as Penn found themselves down 21-16 and just four points away from defeat. However, the Quakers did not quit. Two kills from Molnar and Jones each as well as two blocks that involved Brooke Behrbaum, the Red and Blue would not go away easy as they went on a 7-0 run. A third kill, and her fourth of the set, by Jones gave Penn a set point and with an error by Harvard evened the match at two sets a piece. 

By winning the fourth set, the Quakers would be heading to their fifth five set match of the season, winners of their last two. Unfortunately in a set that only goes to 15, Penn got off to a slow start going down 5-0 right out of the gates and found themselves down 8-2 at the change of ends. That proved to be too much to overcome this time as Harvard closed out the match and the Quakers fell 3-2.

*What's Next

The Quakers will play their second straight match at home on Saturday, this time against Dartmouth at 5 p.m. The Red and Blue are riding a 21-match win streak against the Big Green and will use that to give them confidence as they go for a win to close out the weekend.