The University of Pennsylvania women’s volleyball team is set to conclude a four-match homestand this weekend, hosting Yale and Brown at The Palestra. These matches mark a return to Ivy League play for the Quakers.
Penn was ranked fifth in the Ivy League’s preseason media poll, receiving 58 points. Yale, Friday’s opponent, leads the poll with 121 points and nine first-place votes. Princeton follows closely with 119 points and seven first-place votes. Brown, who Penn will face on Saturday, holds third place with 88 points.
Friday’s match against Yale is scheduled for 7 p.m., while Saturday’s contest against Brown will begin at 5 p.m. Both matches will be played at The Palestra and are available for streaming on ESPN+, which requires a subscription.
Yale has maintained dominance over Penn in recent years, winning the last 11 meetings between the teams and 23 of the past 25 encounters since Penn’s victory in an Ivy League playoff in New Haven in 2010. Last season, Yale secured two wins over Penn by identical 3-1 scores. Penn’s most recent win against Yale came on October 28, 2017.
In contrast, last year’s series between Penn and Brown was split. The Quakers won their home match in straight sets before Brown returned the favor with a sweep in Providence. From 2021 through 2023, Brown had won six consecutive matches before last season’s split.
Penn enters this weekend after winning three consecutive matches by sweeps earlier this season but fell to Temple and Princeton last week. All six of Penn’s victories so far have been achieved via sweeps.
Statistically, Penn leads the nation in digs per set (19.00) and assists per set (14.84), while ranking second nationally in kills per set (14.84). Freshman Addison Pollock is fifth nationally—and third among first-year players—in digs per set (5.53). Within the Ivy League, Penn tops these categories and ranks second in hitting percentage (.252). Junior Zada Sanger is second among Ivy players in kills per set (3.51).
Sanger was named Ivy League Player of the Week on September 22 after being recognized as Tournament MVP at the Delaware Invitational. Bella Rittenberg earned all-tournament honors at Delaware following her performance against host Delaware.
Of ten players who have participated in at least half of Penn’s sets this season, only one is a senior—Anna Shohfi—while four are sophomores and two are freshmen.
This season marks Tyler Hagstrom’s debut as head coach for Penn volleyball after his hiring on July 16 following Meredith Schamun’s departure to become associate head coach at Illinois. Hagstrom previously coached Bucknell for five seasons, leaving as its all-time leader in win percentage.
Sophomore Jenna Garner has contributed both offensively and defensively with six double-figure dig performances and four kill/dig double-doubles this season.
Other notable performers include sophomore Adell Murray with a .324 hitting percentage for the season (improving to .359 excluding her opening match), sophomore Ellie Siskin leading service aces with nine, freshman Haley Kerstetter leading block solos with six, and setter Emery Moore averaging 8.60 assists per set.
Last year under former coach Schamun, Penn finished with a record of 13-10 overall and went .500 (7-7) in Ivy play—a significant improvement from previous seasons—with nearly all core contributors returning this year.
Three current players—Sanger, Murray, and Reid—have received All-Ivy recognition during their careers. Sanger led the team in kills each of her first two seasons; Rittenberg recorded over 200 kills last year; Murray posted a .341 hitting percentage as a freshman; Moore led with over 770 assists; Siskin topped service aces; Lane contributed blocks; McDermott added digs; Reid approaches a career milestone for digs; Garner was key defensively; Shohfi and Van Wie serve as captains this year.
For updates on Penn volleyball throughout the season, fans can follow @PennVolleyball on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram or visit their official website at PennAthletics.com.
