PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania volleyball team opened play at the Sonesta Philadelphia Rittenhouse Square Penn Invitational on Friday night with a 3-0 sweep of Manhattan.
 
Set scores were 25-23, 25-17, 25-12.
 
Penn improved to 3-2 on the season, while the Jaspers—who were 3-1 victors over Le Moyne earlier in the day—fell to 1-7.

Friday Results
  Manhattan 3, Le Moyne 1
  Le Moyne 3, Morgan State 2
  Penn 3, Manhattan 0
Saturday Schedule
  Match 4 | Penn vs. Le Moyne | 11 a.m. | Watch on ESPN+ ($) | Live Stats
  Match 5 | Manhattan vs. Morgan State | 2 p.m. | Live Stats
  Match 6 | Penn vs. Morgan State | 5 p.m. | Watch on ESPN+ ($) | Live Stats
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Penn had yet another strong night hitting the ball, finishing with a .325 percentage (38K-9E-89A).
 
*Sophomores Bella Rittenberg and Zada Sanger led the attack with 10 kills each, Rittenberg hitting .692 on the night (10K-1E-13A) while Sanger hit .364 (10K-2E-22A).
 
*Sanger also led all players with four service aces and had three blocks (1s/2a), while junior Jalen Tennyson had three block assists and Rittenberg finished with two block assists.
 
*Four other Penn players had multiple kills on Friday night: freshman Adell Murray (5), Tennyson (4), freshman Jenna Garner (4), and junior Feyi Ogunlari (3).
 
*Freshman Emery Moore and junior Anna Shohfi once again split time at the setter position, Moore ending the night with a team-high 16 assists while Shohfi had 10.
 
*Junior Abigail Reid played all three sets at libero and finished the night with a team-high nine digs and five assists.
 
How It Happened
The first set left the impression that the Quakers might be in for a battle on Friday night. The Jaspers led by three early, at 9-6, but Penn came right back with three points and then the teams were tied at 10, 11, 13 and 14. Manhattan won four of the next five points after that, taking an 18-15 lead, but Sanger put down a kill and then shared a block with Murray. A Jasper attack error left things tied at 18, leading to an MU timeout, and out of the stoppage Penn responded to a Manhattan point with three in a row. In all, it was a 6-1 run that gave the Red and Blue a 21-19 lead. The teams essentially traded points to 24-23, and a Rittenberg kill gave Penn the narrow two-point victory. She had three kills on four attacks (.750) while Sanger had four kills and two block assists.
 
The second and third sets were not nearly as competitive.
 
Penn scored the first four points in the second set—two of them from Sanger aces—and blew out to a 10-2 lead. Manhattan never got closer than five after that, the first coming at 19-14 and forcing a Quakers timeout. The teams traded the next four points before a modest two-point run by the Red and Blue set the table for the eight-point victory. Rittenberg again hit .750 (3K-0E-4A) and Sanger, Garner and Ogunlari had two each.
 
Manhattan went up early in the third, 6-3, at which point Penn absolutely took over. A Jaspers service error was followed by six straight points won by Quakers kills—two by Garner, two by Murray, and two by Rittenberg. MU finally got back on the board, only for Penn to get a Rittenberg kill, a Sanger kill, and a Garner ace. That was the start of another six-point streak. Overall, it was a 13-1 run that turned a three-point deficit into a 16-7 lead. Manhattan, playing its second match of the day, had no juice left to come back as the Quakers cruised. Rittenberg had five kills and hit .600, while Sanger had four and hit .500 (4K-0E-8A).
 
Up Next
Penn will play two more times on Saturday as part of the Sonesta Philadelphia Rittenhouse Square Penn Invtational. The Quakers will face Le Moyne at 11 a.m., then Morgan State at 5 p.m.
 
For the latest on Penn volleyball, follow @PennVolleyball on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.