PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania volleyball team (2-2) will play its first matches at home this Friday and Saturday. With six combined matches over two days, the Quakers host the Valley Forge Sports Invitational in The Palestra. The tournament field includes Lehigh, Radford, and Saint Francis (PA).
Tournament play begins at 12 p.m. on Friday with a match between Saint Francis (PA) and Lehigh, then concludes with Penn taking on Lehigh at 5 p.m. on Saturday.

"We are thrilled to have Valley Forge Sports back as the title sponsor of our tournament," said Penn's first-year head coach Iain Braddak, ahead of his debut at The Palestra. "We look forward to their continued support for years to come as well."

"Valley Forge Sports is honored to be the main sponsor of the Valley Forge Sports Invitational Volleyball Tournament at UPenn, and we're also happy to host players at one of our Montgomery County Hotels, the DoubleTree Valley Forge," said Jon Scheuren, Sports Sales Manager for the Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board.

"We are excited to have the teams and families experience all that Montco has to offer, including finding their game plan for things to do here with our Valley Forge Sports Playbook App."

Ivy League on ESPN
The Ivy League Network has paired with ESPN and you will be able to find all Penn home volleyball matches, as well as road Ivy matches, on ESPN+ this fall with the same high broadcast quality you've come to expect. ESPN+ is a new, subscription-based service that offers monthly ($4.99) and yearly ($49.99). Click here to subscribe to ESPN+ and start your 7-day free trial! Click here for frequently asked questions about the Ivy League on ESPN.
 
The Schedule

Friday, September 7

Saint Francis (PA) (0-8) vs Lehigh (7-0) – 12 p.m. | LIVE STATS

Series Information

Records: Lehigh leads 11-3 | Last meeting: 2017 (Lehigh, 3-0)

* Lehigh and Saint Francis (PA) both enter their third weekend of play this season. The two teams will go head to head for the fourth time this decade with the Mountain Hawks taking the previous three meetings. Last season it was junior Lauren Bright leading the way with 12 kills for Lehigh en route to a 3-0 victory.

Radford (5-1) vs Saint Francis (PA) (0-8) – 3:30 p.m. | LIVE STATS

Series Information
Records: Radford leads 2-0 | Last meeting: 2012 (Radford, 3-0)

*Radford comes into the weekend playing its third straight tournament. This will be the first meeting between Saint Francis (PA) and Radford since 2012.

Penn (2-2) vs Radford (5-1) – 7 p.m. | LIVE STATS | ESPN +

Series Information
Records: Penn leads 2-1 | Last meeting: 2012 (Radford, 3-1)

* The meeting between Radford and Penn will be the first meeting since 2012 – the last time Radford visited the Penn Invitational.

Previewing Radford

* Head coach Marci Byers enters her 11^th season at Radford and is 5-1 this season – the lone loss coming to Northwestern State. The Highlanders return five starters from 2017 including Valerie Gonzalez, who put up 286 kills, and Haley Kleespies, who dished out 1,109 assists. Radford is coming off of a season in which it made the NCAA tournament for the fourth time in program history.

The Highlanders finished with a 25-5 record going 13-3 in conference and won the Big South tournament last season.

Saturday, September 8

Penn (2-2) vs Saint Francis (PA) (0-8) – 10 a.m. | LIVE STATS | ESPN +

Series Information
Records: Penn leads 4-0 | Last meeting: 2009 (Penn, 3-0)

* The Quakers meet Saint Francis (PA) for the fifth time and the first since 2009. Penn has never lost a game against the Red Flash, winning the previous four meetings by the score of 3-0.

Previewing Saint Francis (PA)

* The Red Flash return three offensive contributors that hit triple-digit kills a season ago. Saint Francis (PA) is 0-8 to start the year, but two of those losses have come by a 3-2 score.

Saint Francis (PA) finished 2017 with 12-15 (6-8, Northeast), 5^th place finish.

Lehigh (7-0) vs Radford (5-1) – 1:30 p.m. | LIVE STATS

Series Information
Records: Series tied 1-1 | Last meeting: 2017 (Radford, 3-0)

* Saturday will mark just the third meeting all-time between these two programs, all of which have come since 2010. Last season's match was a 3-0 win by the Highlanders.

Penn (2-2) vs Lehigh (7-0) – 5 p.m. | LIVE STATS | ESPN +

Series Information
Records: Penn leads 7-1 | Last meeting: 2000 (Penn, 3-0)

This will be the first time in 18 years that the Quakers and Mountain Hawks will take the court against one another. That match was also at The Palestra. Penn has won the last three meetings by the combined score of 9-1.

Previewing Lehigh

* The Mountain Hawks are off to a strong start in 2018 as they have a 7-0 record for the first time since 1979. Five of those seven wins have been 3-0 sweeps. Megan Polak's 213 assists currently rank second in the American League.
Last season the Mountain Hawks finished 18-13 including a 9-7 record in the Patriot League.
 
 
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