PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania women's volleyball team will make its home debut this weekend, as the Quakers host the Valley Forge Sports Invitational Friday and Saturday at The Palestra. Chicago State, Duquesne and St. Francis Brooklyn come to The Palestra to battle with the Red and Blue; the four-team tournament will feature three matches each on Friday and Saturday. The full schedule can be found below.
 
Penn enters the weekend with a 2-1 record after wins against Maryland-Eastern Shore and Lafayette at last weekend's season-opening Crosstown Invitational.
 
Friday Schedule
  Noon – Chicago State vs. St. Francis Brooklyn | Live Stats
  3:30 p.m. – Duquesne vs. Chicago State | Live Stats 
  7 p.m. – Penn vs. Duquesne | Live Stats | ESPN+ Broadcast
Saturday Schedule
  10 a.m. – Penn vs. Chicago State | Live Stats | ESPN+ Broadcast
  1:30 p.m. – St. Francis Brooklyn vs. Duquesne | Live Stats
  5 p.m. – Penn vs. St. Francis Brooklyn | Live Stats | ESPN+ Broadcast

The Ivy League on ESPN+
For the second straight year, fans will be able to watch all of Penn's home volleyball matches, as well as road Ivy League matches, on ESPN+ this fall with the same high broadcast quality as in the past. ESPN+ is a subscription-based service that offers monthly ($4.99) and yearly ($49.99) plans. Go to plus.espn.com to subscribe, or www.ivyleague.com for more information.

Coach Braddak says…
"This team has come together very quickly. Our cohesion on and off the court has been impressive and practices have been incredibly productive. I am proud to see every member of the team contributing and challenging one another to raise the bar for Penn Volleyball. This last weekend we were able to make some great in-match adjustments, find our hitters in transition, and terminate quickly. We'll be looking to continue that progress this weekend with our attack team and setters. We've been working on our serve receive and serve this week in practice, so I'm confident it will all come together for us this weekend."
 
"The Palestra is unlike any other venue; I still get the chills when I walk into the gym. We feel so fortunate to be a part of this history and make our mark on Penn Athletics and Penn Volleyball. The team and coaches are charged up and ready to roll in front of our home crowd; we can't wait!"
 
"I'm confident in our ability to execute our game plan this weekend. We will be relying on our hitters to put points on the board for us. Our entire squad has been committed to winning the serve and pass game from the beginning of the season, so we're excited to see that in action against some tough-serving teams. We know our opponents will challenge us, and at the end of the day we will emphasize playing our game and controlling every match from the very beginning."
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Penn boasts two players with All-Ivy credentials entering this season. Junior Parker Jones was second-team All-Ivy as a freshman and honorable mention All-Ivy last year, while junior Raven Sulaimon joined Jones with honorable mention recognition last year.
 
*Six players saw time in all 13 sets last weekend; of that group, three were sophomores and two were freshman.
 
*Sophomore Margaret Planek had an outstanding weekend in the Lehigh Valley, leading Penn with 35 kills and tying for the team lead with six service aces. She also had six blocks, tied for second on the team, and 32 digs which was second.
 
*Planek—who needs just 19 kills to surpass her total for all of last season—had a double-double in the season opener against UMES (18 kills/14 digs).
 
*Freshman Autumn Leak had 32 kills in her first weekend of college volleyball, including 13 which tied for the team high against Lehigh. She also finished with six blocks.
 
*After totaling 12 kills against The Shore and Lehigh last Friday, Jones racked up 16 kills in just four sets against Lafayette on Saturday. She also has 26 digs so far this season.
 
*At the setter spot, freshman Taylor Fourticq had 63 assists in seven sets while junior Kacie Burton had 62 in six sets. It is expected that they will split duties again this weekend.
 
*Sophomore Daniela Fornaciari had six service aces last week—joining Planek atop Penn's leaderboard—and a team-high seven blocks last weekend. She also had 21 kills.
 
*Sulaimon came off the bench to collect 13 kills against Lehigh last Friday, and she has 21 through three matches.
 
*Freshman Caroline Douglas played in all 13 sets last weekend and finished the Crosstown Invitational with 24 digs and four service aces (including an ace to clinch the win against UMES).
 
*Sophomore libero Carmina Raquel led the Quakers with 62 digs last weekend and also added three service aces. After just one weekend, she is more than halfway to her dig total for all of last season (103).
 
*Expect to see senior Madison Goldstein providing added depth this weekend. She missed last week's tournament due to professional opportunities, but played every set in 2018 and finished second on the team with 49 blocks and third with 178 kills.
 
*Jones and Planek will serve as captains for the 2019 season along with senior Caroline Raquel.