Lions Round Out Five-Game Home Stand This Weekend
10/29/2015 3:45:00 PM | Volleyball
NEW YORK - The Columbia volleyball team (5-12, 3-5 Ivy) rounds out its five-game home stand this weekend as it welcomes Brown (10-10, 4-4 Ivy) and Yale (10-7, 5-3 Ivy) to Francis Levien Gymnasium on Oct. 30 and 31.
WHAT TO KNOW
The Lions are heading into the match after suffering a pair of intense five-set showdown losses to first-place Dartmouth (Oct. 17) and Cornell (Oct. 24).
Earlier this season, the Lions battled with Brown to a five-set thriller on Oct. 3 with the Bears coming out on top, 3-2.
That same weekend, the Lions suffered a 3-1 loss on the road to Yale as the Bulldogs handed Columbia its first conference loss of the year.
Before coming to Manhattan to take on the Lions, Yale will make a stop in Ithaca, New York, to take on Cornell on Oct. 30.
With only six games remaining on the schedule, the Ivy League standings remain tight as five teams are separated by only two matches.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE ACTION
Both matches will be streamed live on the Ivy League Digital Network (ILDN) which can be accessed by visiting www.ildn.tv/Columbia.
Links to live stats for both matches are available on the Columbia volleyball schedule at GoColumbiaLions.com.
A QUICK LOOK AT THE BEARS
Brown heads into the weekend after snapping a four-game losing streak with a pair of wins at home against Penn (3-0) and Yale (3-1) over the last two weeks.
The Bears have been led by freshman Sabrina Stillwell who is avaeraging 3.63 kills per set with a .300 attacking percentage for a team-high 122 points this year in Ivy League play.
As a team, the Bears rank third in the league in attacking percentage (.209) and kills per set (12.85).
A QUICK LOOK AT THE BULLDOGS
Yale enters the weekend coming off a tough 3-1 loss to Brown last week, putting the Bulldogs into third place in the Ivy League standings.
Leading the team this year has been senior setter Kelly Johnson who averages 3.13 kills, 2.70 assists, 2.20 digs and 0.75 blocks per set for an impressive 243 points.
In Ivy League play this year, however, freshman Kelley Wirth has led the way with 3.39 kills per set.
CHASING DOWN PROGRAM HISTORY
Thanks to an impressive 797 assists (9.96 per set) last year that was fifth in the single-season record books and 335 already this year, junior Jennifer Petrovich now has 1,805 total assists in her career, putting her fourth all-time behind Cheryl Bucci (2,154).
With 135 kills already this season, Bailey Springer is nearing the top five in career kills with 826.
Katarina Jovicic currently ranks fourth all-time in program history with 244 total blocks in her career while Kesi Neblett (209) currently sits tied for sixth place all-time.
A WALL AT THE NET
This year, Columbia ranks second in the conference and 68th in the nation with an average of 2.36 blocks per set.
Once again, the Lions are led by the defensive duo of Kesi Neblett and Katarina Jovicic who have posted up 55 and 66 total blocks, respectively, this year.
In their home opener at the Columbia Invitational, the Lions were able to post up 32 total blocks in three matches for an average of 2.9 blocks per set.
The Lions were also dominant at the net in 2014, posting up a blocking average of 2.1 blocks per set for a total 182.5 blocks.
Jovicic led the entire Ivy League in 2014, averaging 1.14 blocks per set to put her 109th overall in the nation.
