Columbia University
SIUE
Wes Enters Top 5 in Digs as Volleyball Falls in Home Opener
9/9/2016 3:45:00 PM | Volleyball
| Set Scores | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| SIUE | 25 | 23 | 25 | 25 |
| Columbia | 13 | 25 | 20 | 23 |
| Stat Comparison | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | SIUE | Columbia |
| Attack Pct. | .261 | .172 |
| Kills/Errors | 63/22 | 48/21 |
| Aces/Errors | 4/4 | 4/6 |
| Digs | 79 | 62 |
| Blocks | 4 | 7 |
| Individual Leaders | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | SIUE | Columbia |
| Kills | Ashley Witt (14) | Natasha Kosowicz (10) |
| Assists | Mallory Mangun (31) | Grace Campbell (42) |
| Digs | Katie Shashack (18) | Cassie Wes (19) |
| Blocks | Carley Ramich (2) | Neblett/Peterson (3) |
NEW YORK — Senior libero Cassie Wes put her name in the Columbia volleyball record books Friday afternoon, but it came in defeat as the Lions were defeated by SIU Edwardsville in four sets (13-25, 25-23, 20-25, 23-25). The match was Columbia's 2016 home opener, and the first of three the Lions will play through the weekend in the Columbia Classic.
Wes went for a match-high 19 digs to move into the top five in the Lions' career record book. The Atherton, Calif., native surpassed Cassie Bryan (2000-03) for the No. 5 spot and now has 913 career digs. Wes sits 87 digs from becoming the fourth Lion in proram history to eclipse 1,000.
Wes's performance on defense was not enough to lift the Columbia offense. The Lions (0-4) suffered from a .172 hitting percentage, while SIUE (3-3) hit .261 in victory. Three Cougars reached double figures in kills and all three of them posted hitting percentage north of .350. Ashley Witt led the way for the visitors with 14 kills at .393.
Sophomore Natasha Kosowicz had a team-high 10 kills for the home side, but she was the lone Lion to reach double figures. Kosowicz hit .152, while senior Zoe Jacobs had nine kills at .097 and senior Kesi Neblett had eight kills at .235.
First-year Grace Campbell put up a match-high 42 assists for Columbia, which finished the match with 48 total kills. Mallory Mangun and Samantha Knight combined for 51 of SIUE's 61 assists, and each reached double figures in digs to record double-doubles. Katie Shashack dug out a team-high 18 attacks.
SIUE came out hot, hitting .323 in the first set for a convincing victory. The Cougars put things out of hand quickly by scoring 10 consecutive points to take a 14-4 advantage. Witt led the way with four kills as SIUE took the first, 25-13.
The Lions quickly put the first set behind them, rebounding from a .000 attack percentage (7-7-32) by hitting .297 with 15 kills to win the second. A 4-0 run gave Columbia its first bit of separation and another 3-0 spurt helped the Lions retake a 16-14 lead. SIUE called timeout to stop the momentum and scored four of the next five points to go back on top. However, Columbia put together the final run. Trailing 23-22, Neblett and Kosowicz came up with a block that sparked a set-clinching 3-0 run. Jacobs was impressive through the set, posting a .429 hitting percentage on four kills, while Wes had seven digs and Campbell had 13 assists.
The third belonged to SIUE, but Columbia did not go down quietly. The Cougars built a 17-7 lead only to see Columbia go on a 13-5 run to get within as little as two at 22-20. In the end, the deficit was just too much to completely overcome, as SIU Edwardsville put down the final three points to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Columbia looked poised to extend the match in set four, but a late lead was wiped away. The Lions used kills by Luciana Del Valle, Neblett and Kosowicz and an ace from Kate Hefner to go on a 5-1 run that resulted in an 18-14 lead. A few points later, Campbell scored an ace and Chichi Ikwuazom put down a kill to make it 21-17 Lions.
SIUE took over from there, retaking the lead at 23-22 to win the match in four.
The Lions return to the court at 7 p.m., to host Manhattan College. SIUE and Bryant will play each other beforehand at 4:30.
