Columbia University
Hartford
Volleyball Stays Hot, Sweeps Hartford
9/17/2016 2:30:00 PM | Volleyball
| Set Scores | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Hartford | 12 | 19 | 14 |
| Columbia | 25 | 25 | 25 |
| Stat Comparison | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Hartford | Columbia |
| Attack Pct. | .051 | .277 |
| Kills/Errors | 24/19 | 35/7 |
| Aces/Errors | 1/7 | 7/10 |
| Digs | 51 | 44 |
| Blocks | 1 | 8 |
| Individual Leaders | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Hartford | Columbia |
| Kills | Paulina Modestow (9) | Luciana Del Valle (8) |
| Assists | Astrid Mangual (17) | Grace Campbell (26) |
| Digs | Paola Llerandi (13) | Cassie Wes (14) |
| Blocks | Two tied with 1 | Ara Peterson (6) |
NEW YORK — Less than 16 hours removed from a three-set victory over Providence, the Columbia volleyball team came back to Levien Gymnasium Saturday morning and soundly defeated Hartford in straight sets (25-12, 25-19, 25-14). It was the first of two matches Columbia will play on the final day of the Lion Invitational.
The Lions (4-5) led wire-to-wire, never trailing for a single point in any set to earn their fourth win in five outings. It was certainly the most convincing victory of the season, as the Lions didn't allow Hartford (3-9) to even reach 15 points in the first and third sets. It included a 25-12 opening set, in which Columbia held the Hawks to a -.061 attack percentage.
Columbia was led by the play of sophomore duo of Luciana Del Valle and Ara Peterson. Del Valle tagged a team-high eight kills and did not commit a single error for a .333 hitting percentage. Peterson posted career-highs of seven kills and six blocks, connecting on offense to a blistering .875 hitting percentage – all but one of her attempts resulted in a kill. The second-year middle helped Columbia out-block Hartford by an impressive margin of 8-1.
First-year setter Grace Campbell added to the victory with her first collegiate double-double, racking up 26 assists and a season-high 11 digs. Senior libero Cassie Wes led all players with 14 digs, moving her career total just five away from 1,000.
The Lions outhit Hartford .277 to .051 for the match, producing 11 more kills and committing 12 fewer errors. The serve-receive game was also a large part to Columbia's success, as the Lions recorded seven aces and scored numerous other points off easy opportunities generated by the serve.
Columbia imposed its will from the beginning and jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the opening set. Campbell's dump set was working effectively in the early stages, and the Visalia, Calif., native added an ace that forced Hartford to its first timeout. Columbia was good for two more aces through the first frame, building a 15-8 lead on one by Wes and posting its first 10-point lead at 21-11. A combo block by Peterson and Del Valle clinched the first set.
The second was more of the same, as Columbia used an ace from senior Sarah Gurbach on the very first point, another ace from junior Anja Malesevic and a Del Valle kill to race ahead 8-2. Columbia's lead was no less than five the majority of the set, until Hartford used its best run of the match to pull within four, scoring six of seven to bring the set to 19-15. Three points later, Paulina Modestow brought the Hawks within just three, 20-17, but Columbia got it together and finished off the set. Peterson and senior Zoe Jacobs combined for a block to get momentum on Columbia's side, and kills by Peterson, Del Valle and Malesevic down the stretch gave the Lions the two-set advantage.
Columbia jumped out to another large lead early in set three, and this time Hartford was unable to generate any type of response. Del Valle served four straight points, which included an ace and kills by Jacobs and Campbell, and Hartford called timeout in a 9-2 hole. The seven-point lead grew to 10 at 19-9 on a kill by senior Kesi Neblett, and first-year Rose Compton made her collegiate debut with a kill on the second-to-last point to complete the feel-good victory.
Columbia returns to Levien Gymnasium at 7:30 p.m., to take on Fordham in what will be the final match of the Lion Invitational. The Rams square off against Providence at 1:30 p.m., followed by Providence at Hartford at 4:30.
