Columbia University
American
American Tops Lions In Intense Columbia Invitational Championship Match
9/12/2015 3:36:00 PM | Volleyball
NEW YORK – Coming off an impressive day-one sweep on Friday, the Columbia volleyball team (2-4) battled through an intense Saturday afternoon matchup with American University, but were unable to come out on top as they fell to the Eagles, 3-0, in the Columbia Invitational Championship match.
Things started out aggressive as both teams battled in a competitive first set that never saw a differential of more than four points, but American was able to take the first game, 25-22. Looking to bounce back, the Lions battled through in a tough second set that saw 11 ties and four lead changes, but despite taking three of the last four points, Columbia was unable to bounce all the way back as the Eagles took a 2-0 advantage into the intermission with a 25-23 victory in set two.
Despite yet another late rally, the Lions were unable to come from behind as they did on Friday against Northeastern, dropping the final set to the Huskies, 25-22.
Columbia finished the final two sets with a team attacking percentage of .395 and combined for a total 13 blocks on the afternoon. Leading the offense was Zoe Jacobs with 11 kills while Sarah Gurbach and Cassie Wes held down the back line with 16 and 14 digs, respectively.
The Lions will return to action next weekend as they head to Stony Brook, N.Y., to compete in their final tournament of the 2015 season in the Stony Brook Invitational, taking on Stony Brook, Army and Rhode Island on Sept. 18-19.
Columbia Invitational Final Standings
1) American (3-0)
2) Columbia (2-1)
3) Northeastern (1-2)
4) NJIT (0-3)
Columbia Invitational All-Tournament Team
Tournament MVP: Allison Cappellino (American)
Monika Smidova (American)
Kristyna Lindovska (American)
Katarina Jovicic (Columbia)
Cassie Wes (Columbia)
Brigette Burcescu (Northeastern)
Nina Vukotic (NJIT)
