HOME OPENER: Volleyball Returns Home For Seventh-Annual Columbia Invitational
9/10/2015 1:24:00 PM | Volleyball
NEW YORK – After opening the 2015 season in Texas at the Hampton Inn and Suites Stephen F. Austin Tournament, the Columbia volleyball team (0-3) heads back to New York to host the seventh-annual Columbia Invitational in their home opener on Sept. 11-12, 2015.
The Lions will welcome Northeastern University, New Jersey Institute of Technology and American University to The Big Apple this weekend for the two-day event.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:
Friday, Sept. 11
Noon – Columbia vs. Northeastern
4:30 p.m. – Northeastern vs. American
7 p.m. – Columbia vs. NJIT
Saturday, Sept. 12
11 a.m. - NJIT vs. American
1:30 p.m. – Columbia vs. American
4 p.m. – NJIT vs. Northeastern
How To Follow The Action
All six matches of the Columbia Invitational will be broadcasted live on the Ivy League Digital Network (ILDN) by clicking here.
Live stats for all the matches are available starting 15 minutes before each match and fans can always keep up with Columbia volleyball on Twitter @CUVB.
A Look At The Lions
Columbia returns home to New York in search of their first win of the 2015 season after an 0-3 start at the 2015 Hampton Inn and Suites Stephen F. Austin Tournament last weekend.
The Lions averaged 10.5 kills per set during the weekend with the team's captains, Zoe Jacobs (2.78) and Bailey Springer (2.44), leading the way.
Alex Andrejev posted up 71 assists throughout the weekend for an average of 8.88 per set.
The History Of The Columbia Invitational
The Columbia Invitational dates back to 2009 when the Lions finished the inaugural event with a 3-1 record after defeating Marist, Quinnipiac and Iona, only falling to Stony Brook.
Columbia is 16-4 all-time in the Columbia Invitational and has swept the field three times, the last one coming last year as the Lions won their matches against Bucknell (3-0), Stony Brook (3-0) and Fairfield (3-1).
Columbia's Lanti Moye-McLaren was named the MVP for the Columbia Invitational last season after posting up 30 kills, 24 digs, two aces and a pair of assists in the two-day event.
A Look Inside The Huskies (2-7)
The Huskies recently snapped a six-game losing streak with wins in two of their last three matches, both of which went to five sets, as they defeated South Dakota State (3-2) and UMass-Lowell (3-2) at the Stephen F. Austin Tournament.
Leading the way has been Brigitte Burcescu who is averaging 3.89 points and 3.43 kills per set while posting up six aces and 16 blocks this season.
A Look Inside The Highlanders (2-4)
The Highlanders are coming off back-to-back wins at the St. Francis Brooklyn Terrier Invitational last weekend after defeating host-St. Francis Brooklyn (3-1) and Rider (3-1) to snap a four-game losing streak and move to 2-4 on the year.
Leading the way is Danica Vukotic who is averaging 3.85 kills and 3.70 digs per set while adding a team-high 11 aces and a combined nine blocks for an average of 4.62 points per game.
A Look Inside The Eagles (3-4)
After starting off the 2015 season with three-straight wins at the D.C. Volleyball Challenge, the Eagles hit the strongest part of their schedule as it took on three Top-25 teams in No. 4 Florida (L, 1-3), No. 25 UCLA (L, 0-3) and No. 17 Hawai'i (L, 0-3) before rounding out the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic with a 3-1 loss to Iowa to fall to 3-4.
Leading the way is Allison Cappellino with an average of 2.75 kills, 0.38 assists and 2.54 digs per set while Kristyna Lindovska has an average of 2.52 kills and 2.04 digs per set and a .252 attacking percentage.
Coming Up Next: Stony Brook Invitational
The Lions will return to action next weekend as they head out to Stony Brook, N.Y. for their final tournament of 2015 in the Stony Brook Invitational from Sept. 18-19.
Columbia will take on host-Stony Brook on Friday at 7 p.m. live on AmericanEast.TV before facing Army in the nightcap at 9 p.m.
The Lions will round out the two-day event against Rhode Island in a Saturday afternoon matchup at 2:30 p.m.
