PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania volleyball team split its final two matches in the Sonesta Philadelphia Rittenhouse Square Penn Invitational on Saturday, sweeping Le Moyne in the morning match but falling 3-0 to Morgan State in the tournament's final game Saturday night.
 
Set scores against the Dolphins were 25-14, 25-17, 25-19.
 
Set scores against the Bears were 25-21, 25-14, 25-22.
 
Penn is now 4-3 on the season.
 
Sophomore Bella Rittenberg and freshman Adell Murray were named to the all-tournament team along with Morgan State's Daniela Ferreira and Mya Karrick, Manhattan's Maike Bertens, and Le Moyne's Jordyn Hamlin.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Murray had a solid day on attack for Penn, hitting a combined .429 (16K-4E-28A); she tallied a team-high nine kills in the loss to the Lady Bears.
 
*Rittenberg, meanwhile, had 13 kills on Saturday, hitting .400 in the loss to MSU (6K-0E-15A) and .367 for the day (13K-2E-30A).
 
*Sophomore Zada Sanger led Penn in kills in Saturday morning's win over Le Moyne, with eight on 18 attacks without an error (.444). Rittenberg and Murray had seven kills, as did junior Jalen Tennyson and freshman Jenna Garner.
 
*Tennyson also was a wall up front, with eight blocks (2s/6a) including five that came in the first set. Sanger aided with three block assists while Feyi Ogunlari had two BAs.
 
*Freshman setter Emery Moore had a team-high 40 assists across the two games on Saturday, while junior Anna Shohfi had 14 and added a team-leading 10 digs in the win over Le Moyne.
 
How It Happened – LE MOYNE
The first set was tied early, 3-3, but Penn scored five of the next six points starting with a Sanger kill and a block by Sanger and Tennyson. The Dolphins got within two, at 8-6, but a service error was the start of a four-point streak that doubled things up again at 12-6. The final dagger was a 7-0 run that featured three Tennyson blocks and moved the Quakers' lead from six to 13 (23-10). In addition to her five blocks in the set (2s/3a), Tennyson also had two kills. Rittenberg led the attack with four kills on six attacks (.667) while Sanger had three kills on eight attacks (.375).
 
The second set was tied at 8-8 but the Dolphins gave Penn the next three points with a service error and two attack errors before finally winning one. The Quakers responded with a Garner kill, a block by Sanger and Murray, and a Sanger kill. In all, it was a 7-1 run that pushed the Red and Blue up, 15-9, and they cruised from there. Sanger had five kills on ten attacks in the set (.500).
 
The third set was a fight much of the way, the teams tied at 11-11 and again at 13-13 before Penn made a four-point run that proved decisive. Tennyson started it with a kill, then shared a block with Ogunlari. The teams essentially traded sideouts most of the way after that, the Quakers closing it out with kills by Murray and Rittenberg and the game ending when Le Moyne's setter went into the net on the final point. Murray and Siskin had four kills each, Siskin hitting .667 and Murray hitting .429, while Garner and Tennyson had apiece.
 
Up Next
Penn is at NJIT on Tuesday night, facing off with the Highlanders at 6 p.m., before returning home next Sunday to host the University of Rhode Island at 1 p.m.
 
For the latest on Penn volleyball, follow @PennVolleyball on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.