Columbia University
Cornell
Volleyball Saves 3 Match Points, Completes Comeback over Cornell
9/24/2016 6:36:00 PM | Volleyball
| Set Scores | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Cornell | 25 | 25 | 25 | 21 | 9 |
| Columbia | 14 | 22 | 27 | 25 | 15 |
| Stat Comparison | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Cornell | Columbia |
| Attack Pct. | .231 | .189 |
| Kills/Errors | 60/20 | 61/29 |
| Aces/Errors | 3/11 | 7/12 |
| Digs | 67 | 78 |
| Blocks | 10 | 4 |
| Individual Leaders | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Cornell | Columbia |
| Kills | Carla Sganderlla (19) | Ara Peterson (15) |
| Assists | Gabby Goodall (26) | Grace Campbell (53) |
| Digs | Lily Barber (15) | Cassie Wes (31) |
| Blocks | Phelps/Wilson (5) | Three tied with 2 |
NEW YORK — Sophomore Ara Peterson hit .619 with a career-high 15 kills and the Columbia volleyball team saved three match points after trailing by two sets to defeat Cornell (14-25, 22-25, 27-25, 25-21, 15-9) Saturday afternoon in the Ivy League opener at Levien Gymnasium.
After dropping its first two sets, the Lions went down 24-22 in the third and faced double match point. A kill by sophomore Lauren Wilkins saved the first, and first-year Grace Campbell came up with a fantastic dig that went over the net and found the floor to save the second and level the score at 24.
Again, Cornell went back in front, presenting itself with a third match point, and again Columbia came up with a response, as junior Anja Malesevic put down the kill to tie the set at 25. With the Lions now serving, Cornell setter Gabby Goodall made an error to flip the script and Columbia was able to put the third set away with an ace from first-year Kalie Wood, extending the match into the fourth set.
Columbia used the momentum to score the first three points of the fourth. Cornell took its only lead of the frame at 7-6, but the first of Peterson's four kills in the set put the Lions back in front. Peterson found the floor again midway through to push the advantage to 16-14, and scored the last two points, both on kills, to win the set and force a fifth.
The Lions scored five of the first six points in the final set and never fell behind. Malesevic put down the kill to make it 5-1, forcing Cornell into an early timeout. The Big Red used a mini-rally to climb back within a pair at 9-7, but two straight kills by Peterson and senior Kesi Neblett pushed Columbia back in front by four. Malesevic strung two more kills together to present the Lions with their first match point at 14-9, and they converted on an ace from first-year Kalie Wood.
The win was Columbia's fourth in a row, marking the team's longest winning streak since ending the 2012 campaign with five straight. The victory also pushed the Lions (6-5, 1-0 Ivy) above .500 for the first time this season, and makes Columbia 7-1 in its last eight Ivy League openers. All eight of those matches have come against Cornell (5-5, 0-1 Ivy).
“I'm extremely proud of our team. They stepped up in big ways and made the adjustments they needed to make to hang in the match,” said third-year head coach Brie Katz. “Usually we rely on our serve to help find some rhythm for us, and it wasn't there in the first few sets. We stepped that up, which helped turn things around, and, obviously, Ara [Peterson] had a wonderful match.”
Peterson came through in clutch moments for Columbia. The middle from Menlo Park, California, hit .667 with six kills and zero errors through the final two sets. Her 15 kills more than doubled her previous career-high of seven, which she posted just last weekend in a 3-0 sweep over Fordham. In Peterson's last two matches combined, she is hitting .690 with 22 kills on 29 swings.
Peterson wasn't the only reason Columbia was able to pull off the comeback. Malesevic posted 13 kills and 12 digs for her first career double-double. She also added four aces, all of which came in the third set to help Columbia save three match points. Senior libero Cassie Wes reached a career-high with 31 digs, which ties for the third-most in a single match in program history. Katie Beauregard was the last Lion to post exactly 31, doing so on Oct. 22, 1999 in four sets against Cornell. First-year setter Grace Campbell tallied a career-high 53 assists on Columbia's 61 kills.
For the Big Red, Carla Sganderlla led the attack with a match-high 19 kills. She hit .278 and added nine digs and three blocks. Sganderlla was joined in double figures by Maddy Sroufe, who had 10. Four Cornell players finished with double-digit digs, led by Lily Barber's 15.
Cornell ended the afternoon outhitting Columbia .231 to .189 and out-blocking the Lions 10-4, but could not put the match away in the final moments. Columbia finished with a 61-60 edge in kills, 58-56 edge in assists, and 78-67 advantage in digs.
The Lions return to Levien Gymnasium for two Ivy League matches next weekend, welcoming Yale on Friday at 7 p.m., followed by Brown on Saturday at 5 p.m. They will be the ninth and 10th consecutive matches for Columbia at home. The Lions are in the midst of the program's longest homestand, which will total 12 straight matches from September 9 – October 8.
