Columbia University
Bryant
All-Around Effort Leads Volleyball to 4-Set Victory over Bryant
9/10/2016 4:30:00 PM | Volleyball
| Set Scores | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Bryant | 24 | 25 | 20 | 19 |
| Columbia | 26 | 19 | 25 | 25 |
| Stat Comparison | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Bryant | Columbia |
| Attack Pct. | .225 | .252 |
| Kills/Errors | 54/20 | 58/20 |
| Aces/Errors | 4/6 | 9/7 |
| Digs | 62 | 53 |
| Blocks | 6 | 7 |
| Individual Leaders | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Bryant | Columbia |
| Kills | Kirstyn Sperry (14) | Chichi Ikwuazom (13) |
| Assists | Vika Katzen (32) | Grace Campbell (43) |
| Digs | Erica Vendituoli (20) | Cassie Wes (19) |
| Blocks | Kirstyn Sperry (4) | Kesi Neblett (4) |
NEW YORK — Three Lions posted season-highs in kills while another reached her season-high in assists, which resulted in the Columbia volleyball team defeating Bryant in four sets (26-24, 19-25, 25-20, 25-19) Saturday afternoon. It was the team's final match of the Columbia Classic, with the Lions posting a record of 2-1 through the weekend.
Not only did first-year Chichi Ikwuazom, senior Kesi Neblett and junior Anja Malesevic all post season-highs in kills, but all three of them recorded hitting percentage above .400. Ikwuazom headed the group with a team-high 13 kills (.423), while Neblett went for 10 (.435) and Malesevic had nine (.421). Neblett added a match-high four blocks and Ikwuazom contributed with three.
The trio was set the whole way by first-year Grace Campbell, who marked season-highs of 43 assists and four aces, including three consecutive aces in the fourth set. Senior Cassie Wes was impressive, once again, with 19 digs, 14 of which came in the final two sets.
“We accomplished a lot of the things we've been talking about and we've been working on,” said third-year head coach Brie Katz. “We put service pressure on our opponents without making many errors, and we want that to be a strength of ours this season. We also had great performances from our middles, Chichi and Kesi, which really helped us get through some tough moments."
Columbia (2-4) jumped out to large leads in all three of the sets it won, only to see Bryant (3-8) nearly come all the way back each time. One of those moments was in the final set, when Columbia seemed well on its way up 13-4, but Bryant came storming back to get to 20-18. The Lions were able to hold off every rally, but Coach Katz hopes her team can improve upon not letting the opposition get back in the match.
“We need to adjust faster,” she stated. “It's something I want to see us improve upon. We go into each match and each set with a game plan, and we need to be able to alter it without falling out of a set or allowing teams to make up too much ground."
Both sides took exactly 151 attacks and committed exactly 20 errors, but it was Columbia that was able to bolster four more kills. The Lions really took advantage at the service line with nine aces and also edged Bryant 7-6 in blocks.
At the conclusion of the tournament, both Ikwuazom and Wes were named to the all-tournament team. Ikwuazom led all players through the weekend with 14 total blocks, and hit .404 on offense with 24 kills. Wes was third for the tournament in digs, totaling 55 and averaging exactly 5.00 per set.
Columbia got off to a good start in Saturday afternoon's match by edging out the first set in extra points. It looked like a runaway early on, as two kills by senior Zoe Jacobs and an ace from Campbell propelled the Lions ahead 5-2. The lead reached as many as six points at 13-7 when Campbell used a dump set that found a hole in the Bulldogs defense. However, that's when things started to sway in favor of the visitors, who slowly inched their way back until finally leveling the set at 23. Columbia stayed in front and earned its first set point on a kill from sophomore Natasha Kosowicz. After a serving error tied things back up at 24, Neblett found the floor to give the Lions a second chance at the set and this time they converted.
Columbia struggled to begin the second, which wound up costing it the set. With Bryant ahead 5-4, the Lions gave up six consecutive points, five of which came on their own attacking errors. Coach Katz burned both of her timeouts by the time Bryant took an 11-4 lead, and it nearly paid off. Columbia answered with four straight points to get within three and remained behind by as many in the latter stages, 18-15. The early deficit just proved too much to overcome, as Bryant scored back-to-back kills to go up 20-15 and closed the set with four of the final six points to tie the match at the break.
The third saw Columbia jump out 4-1 and then 10-5. A thunderous block solo from Neblett maintained the five-point lead at 19-14, but back came Bryant, scoring five straight to nod it up at 19. Just as is in the first set, the Lions bent but did not break. Sophomore Luciana Del Valle put down a kill to stop the run and then Columbia rode the hot hand of Kosowicz the rest of the way. The sophomore from San Jose, Calif., put down a block that sparked a set-clinching 5-0 run, which ended with Kosowicz putting down three straight kills to give Columbia a two-sets-to-one lead.
The wave of momentum carried heavily into the fourth. Columbia scored eight straight to jump ahead 8-1, getting three aces from Campbell and kills from Malesevic, Ikwuazom and Kosowicz. The cushion padded to nine at 13-4, but that lead would evaporate quickly. Bryant went on a 10-3 run to close the gap all the way to 16-14. Coach Katz called a timeout that stopped the run as Columbia scored the next two, and the Lions were able to stem the tide. Bryant got within a pair again at 20-18, but could never completely climb out of the early hole. An ace from Del Valle and a kill from Kosowicz helped seal the victory.
The Lions return to action next weekend when they play host to UMBC, Providence, Hartford and Fordham for the Lion Invitational. The two-day tournament runs Friday and Saturday, with eight combined matches to be played at Levien Gymnasium. Columbia kicks off the festivities Friday morning at 10:30 against UMBC.
