NEW YORK — Behind a career-high 20 kills from first year Emily Teehan, the Columbia volleyball team earned a four-set victory (25-20, 17-25, 25-23, 25-13) over the visiting Brown Bears on Saturday night at Levien Gymnasium.

Columbia (9-6, 3-2 Ivy) split the first two sets before almost giving away the third, but the Lions held on to secure a 25-23 victory after Brown (8-7, 1-4 Ivy) fought off eight match points in the set.

In the fourth, the Lions would learn from their mistakes, quickly surging out to a 6-1 lead before putting the match away with a final-set score of 25-13.

"We played well last night but we came up short," said Columbia head coach Allison Keeley. "So I think to rebound and be confident in what we do and executing again – we've been great at that all season – it was fantastic. Consistency is always a challenge with a young team, but we've had a chance to get our feet wet and get our consistency going at home, so I think we'll be in good shape going on the road."

Teehan was outstanding against the Bears, recording a career-best 20 kills to go along with seven digs and three assists. The first year set the bar high in the season opener against Rhode Island on Aug. 31 with 17 kills, and this was the first time she was able to eclipse that mark.

"She works really hard," commented Keeley on the first year. "I think anytime you have a person that doesn't mind failure, takes feedback and goes back to work, they're going to be successful."

The Lions recorded 56 kills, seven blocks and 53 assists in the match. Senior Lauren Wilkins played a pivotal role in the victory, registering the second-most kills on the team with 13, including a team-high five in the third set. It was Wilkins who was finally able to push the ball over after the Bears had rallied back with eight straight points in the third set that gave the Lions a 2-1 edge in the match.

Sophomore setter Audrey Cheng handed out 38 assists in the win, while senior Luciana Del Valle had a near double-double with eight kills and nine digs.

Brown was led by senior outside hitter Sabrina Stillwell, who registered a double-double with 10 kills and 12 digs.

Columbia will kick off a five-match road stretch next week, first traveling to Philadelphia to face off against Penn on Friday, Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. ET.