PHILADELPHIA – Playing in front of its home crowd for the first time in 2023, the University of Pennsylvania volleyball team lost to Villanova on Wednesday night but took a nice step forward in pushing the Wildcats to five sets before falling, 3-2.
Set scores were 23-25, 25-17, 25-18, 21-25, 15-9.
Penn is now 0-4 on the young season, while Villanova improved to 5-2 overall.
Quaker Notemeal
*Freshman
Zada Sanger once again led Penn with 48 attacks, finishing the night with a match-high 17 kills which gives her 32 across the Quakers' last two matches.
*Sanger also had five digs and two service aces on Wednesday night.
*Sophomore
Feyi Ogunlari had 11 kills, giving her 20 over the last two matches, and also finished the night with three digs.
*Sophomore
Claire Deller proved opportunistic on attack, gaining nine kills on 19 attacks and finishing the night with a .368 hitting percentage. She also had four digs and a block assist.
*
Bella Rittenberg had seven kills on Wednesday night and led the Quakers with four service aces, three of them coming in the opening set.
*Senior
Jo Armstrong went the distance at setter for the third straight match, dishing out 43 assists and adding 10 digs, three kills (.429 hitting percentage), and a block assist.
*Freshman
Elsa McDermott continues to lead the defense from the libero position; she had 19 digs—one shy of match-high honors—to go with a service ace and two assists.
*Villanova got 16 kills from Skylar Gerhardt, 11 from Riley Homer, and 10 from Kiera Booth. Andrea Campos dished out 41 assists, while Elizabeth Feczko led all players in the match with 20 digs and Campos had 12. The Wildcats also had 14 block assists across four players.
Gallery: (9-6-2023) Volleyball vs. Villanova - 9/6/23
How It Happened
After getting swept across nine sets last weekend in Houston, Penn came out ready to go on Wednesday night. The Palestra was sticky on a hot and humid night in Philadelphia, but a sizable crowd showed up and pushed the Quakers to a quick start. In particular, a seven-point run on Rittenberg's serve—three of them coming on aces—turned a 5-5 tie into a 12-5 lead and got the crowd into it early. The lead was still eight when Villanova scored four in a row and nine of the next 11 points, a Penn set error getting the 'Cats within one at 19-18. Head coach
Meredith Schamun used a timeout at that point, but after an Ogunlari kill Villanova scored twice more to tie things at 20-20 and force Schamun's second and final timeout of the set. The teams then traded points to 21-21, 22-22 and 23-23, before Sanger's fourth kill of the set (and her third in five points) gave Penn set point. From there, it was sophomore
Jalen Tennyson who ended it, her block giving the Quakers their first set win of 2023. Sanger and Ogunlari had matching 4-1-9 lines on attack, hitting .333 each.
Penn scored the first two points of the second set, but Villanova roared back with the next five and expanded its lead to 14-5 with another six-point run. The advantage swelled to double digits at 16-6, and the closest the Quakers got after that was seven (24-17) before the Wildcats sent the teams to the break tied at one set apiece. Sanger had four more kills, hitting .273, while Deller had two kills on her three attacks.
The third set was dramatic, the teams tying for the ninth time at 15-15 on a Gerhardt kill. That turned out to be the start of a four-point Wildcat run, and after an Armstrong kill Nova went on another three-point binge. That made the score 21-16, forcing Penn's second timeout in four points. Momentum was clearly Villanova's, however, and the final run was 11-3 as the 'Cats took the set, 25-18.
Penn was down but not out, and the fourth set proved to be their best. A four-point run on Rittenberg's serve pushed the Quakers in front, 7-3, and after the teams traded several points the Red and Blue got another three-point run to expand the lead to 16-10 on the other side of the media timeout. Villanova had a run in them, a 7-1 streak that tied things up at 17-17, but to their credit the Quakers responded. Sanger had kills on consecutive plays for 19-17, and then a Villanova point was followed by another Sanger kill then a Rittenberg spike. That forced a Wildcats timeout, but out of the break a Villanova set error made the score 22-18 and Penn held on for the 25-21 win. Ogunlari had four kills on six attacks in the set, while Sanger had five kills (.231 hitting percentage) and Deller had four (.375).
Sanger opened the fifth-set scoring with yet another kill, but from there Villanova took control. Four kills spread out among three Wildcats were followed by a bad set from Penn and forced a Quakers timeout with the score 5-1. A Rittenberg kill stopped the streak, but only briefly as 'Nova scored five of the next six points for a 10-3 lead and another Penn timeout. The stoppage didn't work, Villanova scoring twice more after the break for a 12-3 lead. To their credit, the Quakers didn't quit as kills by Rittenberg and Deller were followed by another Rittenberg ace which made the score 12-6. However, Villanova scored the next two points for match point, and while Penn staved off three of them the match was finally ended by a Marly Smith kill for the 'Cats.
Quotable
"That was a heck of a battle. I was proud of the way our team fought back in the fourth set and took a senior-heavy, strong Villanova squad the distance. This was a great stepping stone for a lot of our players and our team, and I think it sets us up nicely as we head into a busy weekend here at The Palestra." –
Meredith Schamun, head coach
Up Next
Penn is back at home this weekend for the Penn Invitational Presented by Sheraton. Please note, times will be changing for this weekend's schedule.
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