LORETTO, Pa. – The University of Pennsylvania volleyball team had an outstanding second day at the Red Flash Classic hosted by Saint Francis University. The Quakers were down 2-0 in sets to Siena in Saturday's first match but used a reverse sweep to gain a 3-2 victory, then kept the momentum going less than an hour later in sweeping Mercyhurst, 3-0.
 
Set scores vs. Siena were 21-25, 22-25, 25-16, 25-22, 17-15.
 
Set scores vs. Mercyhurst were 25-10, 25-19, 25-16.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*This marked the first time Penn has won two matches on the same day at a non-Penn tournament in almost exactly five years; on September 20, 2019 the Quakers defeated Seattle U. (3-2) and host UC Riverside (3-1) at the UC Riverside Invitational.
 
*Sophomore Bella Rittenberg and freshman Adell Murray were named to the all-tournament team.
 
*Rittenberg finished the weekend with 34 kills, a .348 hitting percentage, five blocks, eight digs and two service aces.
 
*Murray had 33 kills and hit a team-high .453 on the weekend with just four errors. She also had nine blocks and eight digs.
 
*Murray was particularly outstanding in the Siena match on Saturday, with match highs in kills (20) and block assists (5) to go with a block solo. She hit .576 in that game.
 
*Sophomore Zada Sanger had 14 kills and two block solos against the Saints in Saturday's opener, then had six kills and two block assists against Mercyhurst.
 
*Rittenberg had 10 kills in the Siena game, then followed that up with a team-high 13 kills as she hit a staggering .688 against the Lakers in Saturday's nightcap.
 
*Freshman Emery Moore got most of the reps at setter against Siena and finished the game with 38 assists; she then split duties with junior captain Anna Shohfi against Mercyhurst, both of them dishing out 13 assists against the Lakers.
 
*Moore also had 14 digs against Siena, while Abigail Reid had 10. In the Mercyhurst match, senior Kat Alexander and Moore led the way with 10 digs apiece.
 
*Freshman Ellie Siskin totaled 12 kills, 15 digs and five blocks (2s/3a) on Saturday.
 
*Senior Kaya Johnson was a wall up front on Saturday, with four block assists against Siena and six more against Mercyhurst.
 
How It Happened - MERCYHURST
The Quakers and the Lakers were tied at 2-2, 3-3, 4-4 and 5-5 early in the first set on Saturday, but Rittenberg and Johnson blocked an MU attack and that set Penn off on a five-point run that forced a Mercyhurst timeout. No matter. At 11-7 the Red and Blue reeled off six of the next eight points, and then after MU made it 17-10 the Quakers closed things out with the last eight points in the set to win going away. Rittenberg had three kills on three attacks to lead the charge.
 
Penn built on that momentum, scoring the first three points in the second set and rolling an eight-spot on the Lakers that made this a 14-3 set. Mercyhurst did not give up, getting as close as 20-15 before the teams essentially traded points the rest of the way. Siskin had four kills in the set, followed by Murray and Sanger who had three each.
 
Penn was in control most of the way in the third set, as well, using a four-point run to double up MU 10-5 early. The lead continued to grow, building up as much as ten at 20-10, and the best Mercyhurst could do was get within seven (23-16) before a Rittenberg kill and a block by Rittenberg and Johnson sealed the set and match victory. Rittenberg had eight kills with one error on nine attacks in the set, hitting .778, while Murray had three kills on four attacks (.750) and Siskin had three on eight attacks (.375).
 
Up Next
Penn will be at Coppin State in a rare midweek morning match on Tuesday, tipping off with the Eagles at 11 a.m., before hosting the Sonesta Philadelphia Rittenhouse Square Penn Invitational next Friday and Saturday. Le Moyne, Manhattan and Morgan State will join the Quakers at The Palestra.
 
For the latest on Penn volleyball, follow @PennVolleyball on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.