Columbia
BUCKNELL
Volleyball Sweeps Bucknell in Season Debut
9/5/2014 11:30:00 PM | Volleyball
NEW YORK – The Columbia volleyball team opened a new era Friday night inside Levien Gymnasium in fashion as the Lions swept Bucknell, 3-0, at the Columbia Invitational.
In her debut as head coach Brie Katz led Columbia (1-0) to what no Lions squad has done in the past four seasons, win on opening night, by set scores of 25-20, 25-23 and 25-20.
Bailey Springer notched her ninth career double-double in the opener as the junior's11-kill, 11-dig effort paced the Lions' attack. Classmate Atlanta Moye-McLaren registered a match-best 15 kills and was a dig shy of her own double-double. Sophomore Jennifer Petrovich handled the setting responsibilities, dishing out 41 assists.
Bucknell (1-3) received a 12-kill effort from sophomore Erika Eastley.
After dropping the first two points of the set, Columbia jumped out to 9-5 lead on a kill by sophomore Zoe Jacobs. The Lions continued their momentum and held a six-point lead, 15-9, following a score by Moye-McLaren. The Bison inched back within one, 20-19, and knotted the score on the following play, but five straight points, including three kills by Moye-McLaren, sealed the set for Columbia, 25-20. In the first set of her junior campaign, Moye-McLaren notched eight of her 15 kills on a .500 hitting percentage.
The second set was a see-saw affair that featured seven lead changes and 13 ties. After the early half of the stanza that saw neither teak take a definitive lead, the score equalized at 11 and it was then that the Lions pounced and posted four of the next five points to go ahead 15-12. Bucknell answered however, and regained the lead, 16-15, to force a Columbia timeout. The Lions pounced out of the break and rattled off four points to put the home team ahead, 19-18. The slim advantage was short lived as the points landed on each side of the net until junior Katarina Jovicic slammed a kill down the line to lift the Lions to a 23-22 advantage. A service error by Bucknell's first-year Hana Sawanobori put the set away for Columbia, 25-23.
The Lions wasted no time in the final frame as it jumped out to a 7-3 lead. A kill by Springer lengthen the Columbia edge to 19-14 and the Lions never looked back as they cruised to their triumphant season opener, 25-20.
The Lions return to Levien tomorrow for a matinee contest against Stony Brook before closing out the invitational with a nightcap against Fairfield at 7 p.m.
