PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania volleyball team closed out the non-conference portion of its 2024 schedule with a 3-1 win over the University of Rhode Island on Sunday afternoon at The Palestra. The Quakers dropped the first set but came back to win the next three in winning their second match in a row and fourth in the last five.
Set scores were 20-25, 25-21, 25-16, 26-24.
Penn improved to 6-3 heading into Ivy League play, while URI—which went 1-1 earlier this weekend at Villanova's Wildcat Invitational—fell to 5-8.
Quaker Notemeal
*Penn hit .317 on the day, its fourth time hitting .300 or better this season, and had 62 kills which was one shy of its season high (set in a five-set win over Siena).
*Sophomore
Zada Sanger was the offensive lead, setting a personal high with 22 kills and hitting .409 on the day. The 22 kills are the most by a Penn player since
Madison Risch opened the 2022 season with 22 in a win over Niagara.
*Sophomore
Bella Rittenberg had her second straight double-double, with 12 kills (hitting .360) and 11 digs. She also led all players with four service aces and had a block assist.
*Freshman
Adell Murray also had 12 kills on Sunday.
*Freshman setter
Emery Moore and senior libero
Kat Alexander tied for game-high honors with 14 digs each, and Moore also had a match-high 49 assists, five kills (.333 hitting percentage) and a block assist.
*URI got 13 kills from Havyn Rolle and 12 from Madi Disu, with Disu adding 14 digs and three block assists.
How It Happened
The first set was evenly played through the midway point, the teams tying four times to 8-8 and separated by just a point at 11-10. At that juncture URI scored three in a row to get some separation and force a Penn timeout. The Quakers got as close as two points three times, the last at 20-18, but they committed errors on the next three points that led to the Rams going up 24-18. The Red and Blue fought off two of them but an Aerin Bowman kill gave URI the opening set. Sanger had six kills in the set while Rittenberg had three (hitting .429).
Penn jumped out quickly in the second set, going up 6-1, but URI roared back and tied it at 7-7 on a Rolle kill. A Rams service error started the Quakers on a three-point run that extended to 8-1 as three different players put down kills and
Jenniya Lane served up an ace. Rhody never got closer than four the rest of the way, and that came at 24-20 before a Rittenberg kill tied the sets at 1-1. Sanger had six more kills in the set, while Rittenberg had five (hitting .714) and Murray was a perfect 1.000 on her five kills.
The third set added to the drama, at least early on. The teams were tied 11 times to 14-14 including every number from 7-7 to 14-14. However, a URI service error was followed by kills from Lane and Rittenberg, forcing a Rhody timeout. No matter; a Rams attack error was followed by kills from
Ellie Siskin and
Jenna Garner. The freshman-led run was seven points and put Penn in front, 21-14, on the way to the 25-16 win. Sanger had five kills on six attacks (.833) while four other players had two kills each and Alexander and Moore had five digs apiece.
Penn jumped out with the first three points in the fourth set and led 5-1 early. Rhode Island recovered, however, and got back to 6-5 at which point the teams traded the next six points to 9-8. The Quakers scored the next four points, including Sanger and Murray kills, to go in front 13-8 and force a URI timeout. The Rams hung around as the set neared its conclusion, and when Penn got to match point the visitors really turned it on as a Red and Blue attack error was followed by a Kiera McCarles ace and a Chloe Abuto kill (the end of easily the point of the match and maybe Penn's season so far). However, at 24-24 the Quakers righted the ship as Sanger put down her 22nd kill of the day and then Moore ended the match with a well-placed attack amidst a scramble at the net. Sanger had five kills in the set while Moore had three on seven attacks (.429) and Murray had three as well. Alexander finished the set with six digs and Rittenberg had five.
Up Next
Penn gets into Ivy League play next weekend with a home-and-home series against its travel partner, Princeton. The Quakers and Tigers will meet at Old Nassau on Friday at 7 p.m., with the return game at The Palestra scheduled for Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
For the latest on Penn volleyball, follow @PennVolleyball on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.
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