Columbia University
Yale
Volleyball Hangs On to Defeat Yale, Wins 5th Straight
9/30/2016 11:05:00 PM | Volleyball
| Set Scores | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Yale | 18 | 17 | 25 | 25 | 13 |
| Columbia | 25 | 25 | 17 | 17 | 15 |
| Stat Comparison | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Yale | Columbia |
| Attack Pct. | .107 | .168 |
| Kills/Errors | 51/32 | 54/25 |
| Aces/Errors | 3/6 | 3/16 |
| Digs | 87 | 83 |
| Blocks | 6 | 14 |
| Individual Leaders | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Yale | Columbia |
| Kills | Brittani Steinberg (20) | Anja Malesevic (13) |
| Assists | Franny Arnautou (22) | Grace Campbell (48) |
| Digs | Kate Swanson (28) | Cassie Wes (29) |
| Blocks | Aitkenhead/Wirth (3) | Kesi Neblett (7) |
NEW YORK — The Columbia volleyball team nearly saw its two-set lead slip away against Yale Friday night at Levien Gymnasium, but the Lions prevailed in a five-set thriller (25-18, 25-17, 17-25, 17-25, 15-13) to earn their fifth straight victory and remain undefeated at 2-0 in Ivy League play.
Columbia (7-5, 2-0 Ivy) seemed in control with convincing victories through the first two sets, blocking Yale (8-3, 1-1 Ivy) eight times and holding the Bulldogs to a -.027 hitting percentage. The visitors used the 10-minute intermission to their advantage, regrouping to turn the tide and force Columbia into its second consecutive five-set match.
Columbia scored the first two points of the fifth set and created the first bit of separation. The Lions strung together three straight points to lead 8-5 at the changeover, and remained in front by the same margin at 12-9. Yale used one last run to level the tiebreak at 12, but Columbia didn't give up the lead. Sophomore Natasha Kosowicz put the Lions back ahead with a kill and first-year Grace Campbell followed with an ace to create double match point. A kill by Yale's Brittani Steinberg saved the first, but junior Anja Malesevic put down the final kill to end the 2-hour, 19-minute marathon in victory.
“The fifth set goes so fast and it was important to win those first couple points,” said head coach Brie Katz, whose program has matched its longest winning streak in four seasons. “I'm really proud of us for starting as strong as we did in the fifth set and continuing to fight in this match when it got tough.”
Last Saturday, it was the Lions who rallied from two sets down, finishing off the comeback to defeat Cornell in the fifth, 15-9. Yale tried to do the same thing Friday night to Columbia, but the Lions did not allow it. They hung on thanks in large part to a 14-6 advantage on the block, led by senior Kesi Neblett's match-high seven. Neblett also added eight kills and hit .333 on the evening.
“This was big for us,” Neblett said. “We're playing as a team and winning together, which shows when we win games like this. Everyone understands that no one individual can win the Ivy League. When we play together and fight for one another like we did tonight, we end up with great results.”
'This team has heart and they want to fight,” Katz went on to add. “Everyone is stepping up and it's great to see them want more for this program and for each other.”
No single individual performance jumped off the stat sheet, but there were outstanding performances all around. Malesevic led the team on offense with 13 kills and did her part on defense with eight digs and two blocks. First-year Chichi Ikwuazom had an extremely effective night, notching 12 kills at a .476 attack percentage and adding five blocks, Another first-year, setter Grace Campbell, totaled 48 assists and earned her second double-double of the season with 11 digs. Senior Cassie Wes had 29 digs and climbed to No. 3 on Columbia's all-time career digs list with 1,071. Senior Zoe Jacobs went for eight kills and six blocks, and Natasha Kosowicz finished with eight kills and a season-high 15 digs.
Aside from out-blocking Yale, Columbia ended the night with a 54-51 advantage in kills and outhit the Bulldogs .168 to .107. Both teams registered more than 80 digs and tallied exactly three aces.
The Lions will look to continue their winning streak in less than 24 hours, hosting Brown on Saturday at 5 p.m. The match will be streamed live on the Ivy League Digital Network.
