CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The University of Pennsylvania volleyball team engaged in a five-set thriller with Harvard on Friday night at the Crimson's Malkin Athletic Center. The Quakers were down 2-1 after three sets, tied things up with a win in the fourth, but watched Harvard pull away in the decisive fifth in taking a 3-2 loss.
Set scores were 21-25, 25-22, 25-16, 23-25, 15-7.
Penn fell to 1-11 on the season, 0-2 in Ivy play. Harvard is now 2-8 overall, 1-1 in league play.
Quaker Notemeal
*Penn fell to 0-2 in five-set matches this season—the other loss came 10 days ago against Lehigh—and is 2-4 in the
Meredith Schamun coaching era in five-setters.
*Penn set a season high with 60 kills, not necessarily a surprise given the Quakers were playing just their second five-setter this season. What was perhaps more encouraging was the Red and Blue hitting a season-high .247.
*Senior
Madeline McGregor had arguably her finest offensive night of the season. She tied a season high with 15 kills—the second time in three matches reaching that total—and hit a season-best .306.
*The senior also filled the box score with six digs, a team-high three service aces, three block assists, and three assists.
*Senior
Autumn Leak didn't enter the match until the third set, but she made her presence felt with 10 kills on 21 attacks and just one error, a .429 hitting night.
*Sophomore
Ella Green had 12 kills in the match, reaching double figures in that category for the third time in the last five matches (with another nine-kill match in that stretch).
*Senior
Elizabeth Ford and junior
Madison Risch had seven kills apiece; Ford's total was a season high and she continues to be opportunistic with her kills, as they came on just 13 attacks. She hit .385.
*Freshman
Anna Shohfi was back starting at setter on Friday night and had 47 assists along with eight digs, four kills, and three block assists.
*Freshman
Abigail Reid was once again strong in the libero spot, leading all players with 20 digs, while classmate
Claire Deller topped the Quakers with five block assists.
*Sophomore
Tatum DeMann entered the night with one service ace this season, but she had two on Friday.
How It Happened
Harvard scored the first four points on Friday night, and while Penn quickly drew back within one the Crimson held their lead into the midway point of the first set. It was 17-15 Harvard when the Quakers finally bounced past their hosts, a McGregor kill setting Penn off on a four-point run and its first lead of the night. Harvard scored three of the next four points to tie things at 20-20, but a Green kill and a Ford block forced a Harvard timeout and then out of the break Shohfi and Green kills gave Penn set point. Harvard staved off the first one, but a Crimson service error put Penn up 1-0. McGregor and Green had four kills each, McGregor hitting .500 in the set.
The second set was tight all the way, with neither team ever leading by more than three points. That was Penn's lead, at 16-13, when Harvard scored four of the next five points to tie things at 17-17. Ford briefly gave the Quakers a lead with a kill, but the service game came into play as Harvard tied off a Penn error and then scored twice more off aces. That forced a Penn timeout, and out of the break Shohfi made it a one-point set. However, Penn again committed a service error, making it 21-19, and that set Harvard off on a 4-1 run. Penn fought off the first two set points, the first on a McGregor kill and the second on a block by Risch and Deller, but then a service error gave Harvard the 25-22 decision. McGregor again hit .500 in the set (3-0-6), while Ford had three kills and hit .400 (3-1-5).
All indications were that the third set would be another taut affair, the teams tying at 7, 8, 9, and 10. However, Harvard broke things open after that, scoring the next two points to break the tie and then answering Penn's 11th point with three more. The run eventually stretched to 12-4, making the score 22-14, and the Crimson cruised from there. McGregor did her part with another .500 set (4-0-8).
The fourth set was the Leak Show, as the senior had seven kills on 11 attacks, a .636 hitting percentage. That said, it was kills by her classmates Ford and McGregor that broke an 18-18 tie, then kills by McGregor and Leak that made the score 22-19. Leak's kill forced a Harvard timeout and the Crimson scored the next two points out of the break. However, Penn again went to Leak who got the kill to stuff Harvard's momentum. The teams traded points from there, Shohfi ending the set with a final kill at 25-23.
The fifth set got away from the Quakers before they were even on the board. Harvard scored the first three points, and soon it was 5-1 which forced a Penn timeout. The Red and Blue got back within three a few times, the last at 7-4, but Harvard reeled off the next four points after that to make it 11-4 and essentially put this match to bed. The Crimson hitters were simply outstanding in the final set, with nine kills on 13 attacks and no errors (.692 hitting percentage).
Up Next
Penn is at Dartmouth on Sunday afternoon at 12:30, in a match that will air live to a national TV audience on ESPNU.
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