Volleyball Hits Road Block at Harvard

Friday, October 14

Cambridge, Mass.

7:00 PM

Columbia University

Harvard

10/14/2016 9:09:00 PM | Volleyball

By: Columbia University Athletics

Columbia

Harvard

Box Score

Set Scores
Team	1	2	5
Columbia	20	22	11
Harvard	25	25	25

Stat Comparison
Category	Columbia	Harvard
Attack Pct.	.173	.317
Kills/Errors	32/14	47/15
Aces/Errors	1/5	4/5
Digs	36	49
Blocks	8	6

Individual Leaders
Category	Columbia	Harvard
Kills	Chichi Ikwuazom (7)	Corinne Bain (13)
Assists	Grace Campbell (28)	Erin McCarthy (27)
Digs	Cassie Wes (17)	Corinne Bain (13)
Blocks	Ikwuazom/Neblett (3)	Cornelius/Bain (4)

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Playing away from New York City for the first time in more than a month, Columbia suffered a three-set defeat at the hands of Harvard (20-25, 22-25, 11-25) Friday night in Ivy League volleyball action from the Malkin Athletic Center.

Columbia (9-7, 4-2 Ivy) entered the night having won seven of its last eight, riding its first 4-1 Ivy League start since 2011. All of that happened at home, where the Lions played 12 consecutive matches spanning September 9 – October 8. Meanwhile, Harvard (5-10, 3-3 Ivy) hadn't played at home since September 16, contesting its first five Ivy League matches on the road.

Corrine Bain highlighted the night for Harvard, posting 16 assists, 13 digs and a match-high 13 kills on her way to her third consecutive triple-double. She hit .526 and added four blocks for a match-high 15 points. Grace Roberts-Burbank added 11 kills, as the Lions were outhit .317 to .173, surrendering their highest opponent hitting percentage since falling to Indiana on September 3.

First-year Chichi Ikwuazom and senior Kesi Neblett led the attack for Columbia. Ikwuazom posted a team-high seven kills and hit .312 with three blocks, while Neblett had five kills with a .333 hitting percentage and three blocks. Senior Cassie Wes led all players on either side in digs with 17.

Columbia started well, using a 6-1 run early in the opening set to build an 11-7 lead. Neblett, Ikwuazom, junior Anja Malesevic, sophomore Natasha Kosowicz and first-year Grace Campbell combined for three kills and two blocks on the run, forcing Harvard into its first timeout.

The stoppage turned the set around. Three straight Crimson points tied the score at 13, before Harvard took its first lead since 6-5 with after an attacking error from Kosowicz, 16-15. The run didn't stop, as Harvard scored four straight and used a 9-2 run to go up 23-17, eventually closing out the first set by five.

Malesevic, Neblett and senior Zoe Jacobs combined for four consecutive kills to give Columbia an early 4-2 advantage in set two. Harvard climbed its way back to go on top 12-11, but Ikwuazom came up with a kill and a block to quickly retake the lead for the Lions. Two more Columbia points forced Harvard into its first timeout, and Malesevic kept the pressure on with a kill and a block to give the Lions a commanding 21-16 lead.

Harvard called its second timeout and responded by scoring nine of the next 10 points to steal the set. Four consecutive Crimson kills and a Columbia error leveled the score at 21. Luciana Del Valle put down a kill to bump the Lions back ahead, but Harvard kept the rally going. Roberts-Burbank and Bain combined for back-to-back kills to give the Crimson their first lead since 11-10, and the wheels came off for the Lions as consecutive errors gave Harvard a two-set lead.

Again, the Lions started well in the third, but Harvard responded and put an early end to any hopes of a comeback. After Columbia jumped ahead 5-2, four straight Harvard points gave the Crimson the lead, and the Lions never got it back. A 6-0 run put the set out of reach, and Harvard put the match away on a 16-3 run.

Columbia will try and bounce back on Saturday at Dartmouth. First serve is scheduled for 5 p.m. from Leede Arena.