PHILADELPHIA - Saturday evening was a bittersweet moment at The Palestra as it marked the last match the six seniors Hayley Molnar, Michelle Pereira, Kendall Covington, Aimee Stephenson, Emily Friedler, and Sydney Morton would play on their home court. However, the evening also celebrated the careers of six players who have meant a lot to the Penn volleyball program. 

Like a perfect ending, the six seniors and the women's volleyball team earned a win in the final home match, finishing the season sweep of Columbia with yet another dramatic 3-2 (25-18, 25-20, 23-25, 16-25, 15-9) victory. With the win, their fourth straight, the Quakers move to 7-5 in Ivy League play and are tied for third place in the standings. 

Inside The Numbers

* As a group, the six seniors tonight finished with 23 kills, 51 assists, 4 aces, 6 total blocks, and 33 digs.

* The Quakers' four game win streak is their longest since 2015. Their four straight Ivy wins are the longest streak since 2013.

* By sweeping Columbia, it marks the first time the Quakers have done so since 2010.

* The Quakers are 5-3 in five set matches this season and have won four of their last five. 

* Penn sits at 7-5 in the Ivy League. It's their most wins in the conference since 2015.

* The Quakers won even though they had less overall points than the Lions. 

* The Red and Blue out-hit Columbia .201 to .185 and had more kills, 59-54.

* Penn had yet another total team effort. The Quakers had three players with ten or more kills lead by Parker Jones' 19, while Anja Malesovic had double-digit kills for the Lions. 

* Jones' 19 kills are the most the freshman has had in a match that has gone five sets. Her 22 kills in the team's four set win over Dartmouth is still her overall career high. 

* For the second straight night, it was Jones and Morton who lead the way with two double-doubles. Jones had 12 digs to go with her 19 kills while Morton had 12 digs to go with her 48 assists.

How it Happened

The Quakers looked to send their seniors out on a high note on senior night at the Palestra. However, doing so would not be an easy task against a Columbia team that had won four of it's last five. That proved to be the case as through 20 points, the team's had found themselves tied nine times. Finally, while it was senior night, it was the freshmen, Parker Jones and Raven Sulaimon who gave the team the spark they needed to put the Quakers up 20-16. Senior Hayley Molnar stepped up late as with one of her five kills and three blocks in the first set gave the Red and Blue the late push they needed to take the opening set 25-18. 

Columbia raised their game in the second set to go up 8-2 early, but back to back kills by Kendall Covington pulled her team within two to make the score 9-7. Finally, Sulaimon added two of her 13 kills on the night to give the Quakers the lead and they never gave it back. An ace by senior Aimee Stephenson gave Penn a comfortable 2-0 lead as they took the second set 25-20. 

While it looked like the Quakers would get out of the match with a quick 3-0 lead, that would not be the case. Up 22-17, Penn gave up eight of nine points as the Lions took set three 25-23 and then in set three it was all Columbia as the Lions took the fourth set 25-16 to even the match up at two sets a piece. 

Much like the first three sets that were back and fourth, the fifth and deciding set went the same way. Through 14 points, the set had seen six ties as both teams were locked up at 7-7. Up 11-9, once again, it was the freshmen duo of Sulaimon and Jones who gave the team the spark they needed as the pair rallied off a run of three kills to go up 13-9. With The Red and Blue crowd on their feet, willing their team to victory, back to back errors gave the Quakers a 15-9 fifth set victory as Penn sent their seniors off into the sunset with a 3-2 triumph at The Palestra.