Columbia
Penn
Volleyball Cruises Past Penn in Straight Sets
10/3/2014 7:02:00 PM | Volleyball
Box Score
PHILADELPHIA - The Columbia volleyball team cruised to a straight set victory over the University of Pennsylvania Friday night at the Palestra. The Ivy League victory came by set scores of 25-12, 25-22 and 25-13.
The win, which improved Columbia to 6-5, 2-0 in Ivy League, is the Lions first in program history at the Palestra.
Bolstered by 35 assists from sophomore Jennifer Petrovich, Columbia posted a .311 hitting percentage on the night, its highest of the season and best since hitting .327 in a straight set victory over William & Mary Sept. 20, 2013. Junior Bailey Springer led the way with nine kills with sophomore Zoe Jacobs adding seven. Classmate Kesi Neblett contributed six kills including four to open the match.
The trio of senior Charlee Dyroff, junior Altanta Moye-McLaren and Jacobs were at the forefront of Columbia's defensive effort as Penn (3-10, 0-2 Ivy League) was limited to a .014 hitting percentage. Dyroff turned in 18 digs while Jacobs registered 12 digs and five blocks. Moye-McLaren chipped in 11 digs to the Lions defense.
Ten kills from Alexis Genske paced the Quakers' attack.
It was all Columbia from the first serve of set one as junior Katarina Jovicic and Jacobs combined for back-to-back blocks to spark a 5-0 stretch by the Lions behind Moye-McLaren at the service line. With Jacobs serving, Neblett threw down a kill followed by a cross-court score from Springer to push the Lions lead to 9-2. Columbia continued its offensive surge as two consecutive kills from first-year Anja Malesevic pushed the score to 15-7. The Lions' advantage moved to double digits off a kill by Neblett, who joined forces at the net with Petrovich to put the set away, 25-12.
The score went back-and-fourth to open the second stanza before Springer's kill in the deep corner sparked the Lions to a 14-11 lead. The Quakers climbed back within one on two occasions, but Columbia managed to remain on top and built its edge back to five off a score by Jovicic, 20-15. Neblett helped moved the score to 23-19 before Malesevic scored match point, 25-22.
Columbia jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the final frame and was on top, 12-5, as the midway point approached. The Lions continued its momentum using a 7-1 stretch to grab a 19-6 edge. The run featured Caitlin Cole's first collegiate kill. A tally by Jacobs gave Columbia a 21-8 margin and a kill from Malesevic gave the set to the Lions, 25-13.
The Lions continue its Ivy League road tilt as they make the trip to Princeton, New Jersey, for a match-up with the Tigers tomorrow at 5 p.m. live on the Ivy League Digital Network.
