The Crimson's seasoned veterans have served as the perfect role models on the court this year. After a breakout season last year, sophomore Erin Denniston has had another tremendous season, garnering Ivy League Player of the Week honors twice this year. Last weekend at the Harvard Invitational, Denniston was named to the All-Tournament Team after tallying 24 kills against Marist.

Junior middle hitter Katherine Hart, 1997's Ivy League Rookie of the Year, has also rebounded with a vengeance following an injury-plagued season last year. Possessing both power and poise, Hart was also named to last week's All-Tournament Team and has combined with Denniston and Jellison to form one of the most intimidating front lines in the Ivy League.

The Crimson's first roadblock in its quest for the Ivy crown will come

this afternoon against Penn (14-13, 3-4 Ivy), the sixth seed in the tournament.

In their only regular-season face-off this year, Penn shocked Harvard with a surprise 3-1 victory, 15-7, 9-15, 10-15, 9-15. Having just beaten Princeton the day before, the fatigued Crimson was unable to maintain its composure against the less-talented Quakers.

Before defeating Harvard, Penn had been winless in Ivy League play.

"We played Penn earlier in the year and didn't have a particularly good match against them," Schaeffer said. "We had just come off a great match against Princeton the day before but just couldn't beat Penn. But we're eager to show them now who Harvard Volleyball really is, and we want to show them how we really play."