After a successful regular season, the Harvard women's volleyball team will be seeking its biggest prize of the year this weekend--the Ivy League crown.

The Crimson (17-11, 5-2 Ivy) will travel to Dartmouth this afternoon to compete against the rest of the conference. The double-elimination tournament, which ends Sunday afternoon, will determine both the league champion and the team that will represent the Ivy in the NCAA tournament.

"We basically want to go in there this weekend and give each team that we meet our best game," co-captain Kristen Schaeffer said. "Before every game, we always talk about how we're going to play the other team, and we always believe that we should give them our best."

Seeded third at the tournament, Harvard is ranked below top-seed Princeton (18-5) and second-seeded Brown (13-10), two teams with identical 6-1 Ivy records.

On October 15th, The Crimson handed the Tigers their only Ivy loss of the season. Harvard convincingly demolished Princeton in three easy games, 15-8, 15-12, 15-12. During the match, co-captain Linda Jellison had 18

kills, and freshman setter Mindy Jellin orchestrated a multifaceted

Harvard offense by assisting on 45 points.

Following the graduation of Crimson stars Melissa Forcum '99 and Kate Nash '99, Jellin and her fellow freshmen have given the Crimson a much-needed boost this season. Jellin, who at 5'8 has a height advantage over most setters, has taken over Nash's role by settling in as the team's quarterback. Freshman outside hitter Liz Cebron, who possesses a powerful serve, has also enjoyed a successful first season.

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."

Penn's mediocre record reflects the dramatic rebuilding that the team has undergone this season.

A young team that possesses eight freshmen on its roster, the Quakers have relied upon the leadership of a strong sophomore class.

Setter Jodie Antypas, outside hitter Stephanie Horan and middle hitter

Kelly Szczerba have combined to form an intimidating sophomore front line this season. Horan decimated the Crimson in October with 24 kills and 19 digs.

After garnering a 3-0 record last weekend at the Harvard Invitational and amassing an 8-3 record during the second half of the season, Harvard has finally answered doubts about maintaining its intensity late into the match and has overcome nagging injuries.

Harvard has hit its stride just before it begins its quest for the Ivy League Championship.

Talk about perfect timing.