Columbia
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Dartmouth
Ikwuazom Leads Volleyball to 4-Set Triumph over Dartmouth
10/15/2016 10:05:00 PM | Volleyball
Box Score| Set Scores | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Columbia | 28 | 27 | 25 | 25 |
| Dartmouth | 30 | 25 | 22 | 17 |
| Stat Comparison | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Columbia | Dartmouth |
| Attack Pct. | .188 | .151 |
| Kills/Errors | 62/26 | 53/25 |
| Aces/Errors | 6/8 | 5/6 |
| Digs | 93 | 86 |
| Blocks | 8 | 12 |
| Individual Leaders | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Columbia | Dartmouth |
| Kills | Chichi Ikwuazom (21) | Emily Astarita (13) |
| Assists | Grace Campbell (45) | Zoe Leonard (22) |
| Digs | Cassie Wes (24) | Danielle Glinka (20) |
| Blocks | Ikwuazom/Campbel (3) | Kaira Lujan (7) |
HANOVER, N.H. — First-year Chichi Ikwuazom hit .459 with a career-high 21 kills to lead the Columbia volleyball team to a four-set victory over Dartmouth (28-30, 27-25, 25-22, 25-17), Saturday evening in Ivy League volleyball action at Leede Arena.
The victory moved Columbia to 5-2 in the Ivy League, tying the 2011 team for the program's best record at the conference's halfway mark. Dartmouth fell to 1-6 in league play after picking up its first victory Friday night over Cornell.
Ikwuazom's 21 kills marked the most by a Lion this season. The New York City product also picked up three blocks to mark another career-high of 23.0 points.
Junior Anja Malesevic and sophomore Natasha Kosowicz joined Ikwuazom in double figures on the attack. Malesevic raked in 13 kills and added a career-high 17 digs for her third double-double of the campaign, while Kosowicz put down 11 kills at a .303 clip.
Including Malesevic, five Lions posted double-figure digs. Senior libero Cassie Wes led the way with a match-high 24, followed by Malesevic's 17, 16 from first-year setter Grace Campbell, a season-high 13 from senior Sarah Gurbach and a season-high 12 from sophomore Luciana Del Valle. Campbell also picked up her fifth double-double by setting for a match-high 45 assists.
Columbia ended the night outhitting Dartmouth .188 to .151, outdueling the Big Green 62-53 in kills, 6-5 in aces and 93-86 in digs. Dartmouth held the edge in blocks, 12-8.
Ikwuazom helped Columbia get past a hard-fought first set in which the Lions had set point but fell in extras, 30-28. She sparked the offense with seven kills in the second, including back-to-back swings to put Columbia on top 12-8. Dartmouth pulled back within one down the stretch, but each time Ikwuazom was there to record another kill, willing the Lions to a 27-25 set victory and tying the match at a set apiece.
After going down by as many as four points in the third, Columbia rallied to take the set and its first lead of the match. Trailing by three, the Lions rolled off seven consecutive points on Del Valle's serve that resulted in a 10-1 run. Kills by junior Anja Malesevic and sophomore Natasha Kosowicz got it started, and Del Valle served up back-to-back aces to complete a stretch of seven unanswered with Columbia ahead 21-17. Kills by Campbell and Malesevic made it 24-18 Columbia, which was a large enough cushion to withstand a late rally from the Big Green and win the set, 25-22.
Dartmouth and Columbia were deadlocked at 14 in the fourth when Columbia put together a 5-0 spurt to gain momentum and finish off the match. Again, it was the serve of Del Valle which sparked the run, which saw two kills by Ikwuazom and one from Kosowicz. Ultimately, the Lions polished off the victory with 11 of the final 14 points, sealing the match on a Campbell ace.
Columbia begins the second half of the Ivy League slate next weekend at Cornell. First serve is set for Saturday at 2 p.m.
