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.

*Murray's 20 kills were the most by a Penn player in almost exactly a year; Zada Sanger pulled off the feat once last season as a freshman, with 20 kills against Lafayette on September 9.
 
*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 - SIENA
Penn used an early run in the first set of Saturday's opener, freshman Jenna Garner using back-to-back kills to spur Penn from a 5-4 lead to a 10-5 advantage. Siena came back with six of the next eight points to get within one, at 12-11, then used another three-point streak to go in front, 17-15. Penn called timeout and drew back level on a pair of Johnson kills, then took an 18-17 lead on a Murray kill. The Saints took over from there, though, scoring the next four points and extending the run to 8-3 in grabbing the 25-21 win. Murray had five kills on nine attacks without an error in the set.
 
Siena got in front in the second set, but the lead was never more than three and Penn finally came back to tie things at 14-14. The teams traded the next eight points to 18-18, before a Feyi Ogunlari kill and an Elsa McDermott ace gave the Quakers a 20-18 lead. The Saints scored the next two points to draw level, then scored four in a row after a Murray kill had put Penn up, 21-20. A Saints service error allowed Penn to stave off one set point, but a Sara Wagner kill gave Siena the 2-0 lead through two. Rittenberg hit .500 with four kills in the set, while Murray had three kills on four attacks without an error.
 
Siena led by as many as four in the third set, 12-8 and 13-9, but Penn came back with six points in a row to roar into a 15-13 lead. Siena got a kill to stop the run, but only briefly—the Quakers ran off the next six in a row for a 21-14 advantage. In all, it was a 12-1 run that turned the tables. Penn cruised from there. Murray and Sanger had four kills each, Murray hitting .667 and Sanger .571 in the set.
 
The fourth set was a nailbiter, with Penn holding the largest leads at three points on a few occasions. The Quakers' lead was 21-19 when a service error and an Olga Sawinska kill got Siena back level at 21-21. Penn took a timeout, but another Sawinska kill put the Saints in front, 22-21. However, the Red and Blue won the next four points to close out the set, Murray and Sanger sandwiching kills among a pair of attack errors by their opponent. Sanger had four kills in the set while Murray and Siskin had three each.
 
Penn went up 3-1 early in the fifth set, but Siena came back and the teams went back and forth the rest of the way. In all, the two teams were tied 10 times from 3-3 to 12-12, before a pair of Siena attack errors gave the Quakers two match points. The Saints fought both of those off, then fought off yet another after a Murray kill gave Penn a 15-14 lead. It was Ogunlari who stepped up at that point, combining with Murray to block a Wagner attack and then coming up with the kill that ended the match and gave Penn the set (17-15) and the match (3-2). Murray had five kills in the deciding set on seven attacks, hitting .714.
 
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.