Columbia Returns for Home Finale, Bids Farewell to Seniors

Friday, November 2

New York, N.Y.

7:00 P.M.

Columbia University

Princeton

Photo by: Columbia University Athletics/Mike McLaughlin

Columbia Returns for Home Finale, Bids Farewell to Seniors

11/1/2018 1:00:00 PM | Volleyball

ESPN+ vs. Princeton ESPN+ vs. Penn Live Stats

Seniors Madeleine Casey, Luciana Del Valle, Natasha Kosowicz and Lauren Wilkins will be honored prior to Saturday's 5 p.m. match against Penn

NEW YORK – The Columbia volleyball team (9-11, 3-7 Ivy) returns to New York for its final two home matches of the season this weekend. The Lions will take on Princeton (15-6, 8-2 Ivy) Friday night at 7 p.m., before hosting Penn (5-16, 2-8 Ivy) Saturday at 5 p.m. Columbia will also honor the careers of its four graduating seniors before Saturday's match against the Quakers.

Both matches will be available on ESPN+. Live stats will be provided by GoColumbiaLions.com.

SENIOR SEND-OFF
Seniors Madeleine Casey, Luciana Del Valle, Natasha Kosowicz and Lauren Wilkins will be honored prior to the start of Saturday's home finale. The four seniors are all four-year members of the program who helped the Lions to a third-place finish with a 9-5 Ivy League record in 2016, tying for the most league wins in program history. Columbia has also been dominant at home since this senior class arrived at Morningside Heights, posting a record of 28-12 (.700) over the last four years at Levien Gymnasium. It included an 11-3 mark in 2016 that saw the program's first 3-0 start to Ivy League play.

IVY LEAGUE UPDATE
Columbia slipped to sixth in the Ivy League standings following back-to-back losses against Harvard and Dartmouth last weekend. Dartmouth's (4-6 Ivy) win over the Lions allowed them to take sole possession of the fifth spot. Cornell (7-3 Ivy) and Harvard (5-5) remain unchanged in third and fourth, respectively. In a fight for the number one spot in the league, Yale (9-1) came out on top against Princeton (8-2) in a thrilling five-set match. Penn (2-8) fell into a tie with Brown (2-8) after falling to the Bears in four sets. The full Ivy League standings can be accessed at IvyLeagueSports.com.

LION LEADERS
Kills: Emily Teehan – 235, 3.26/set
Hitting Percentage: Chichi Ikwuazom – .347 (min. 1.00 kill/set)
Assists: Audrey Cheng – 609, 8.46/set
Digs: Kalie Wood – 294, 4.08/set
Blocks: Rose Compton – 55.0, 0.82/set
Aces: Emily Teehan – 28, 0.39/set

IVY LEAGUE LEADERS (TOP 5)
Total Kills: No. 2 – Emily Teehan (235)
Kills/Set: No. 2 – Chichi Ikwuazom (3.47), No. 5 – Emily Teehan (3.26)
Hitting Percentage: No. 3 – Chichi Ikwuazom (.347)
Assists: No. 5 – Audrey Cheng (609)
Assists/Set: No. 5 – Audrey Cheng (8.46/set)
Aces No. 1 – Emily Teehan (28), No. 2 – Kalie Wood (25)
Digs: No. 4 - Kalie Wood (294, 4.08/set)
Blocks/Set: No. 5 – Chichi Ikwuazom (1.05)
Total Points: No. 2 – Chichi Ikwuazom 156.5 No. 3 – Emily Teehan (272)
Points/Set: No. 2 – Chichi Ikwuazom (4.12/set), No. 3 – Emily Teehan (3.78/set)

LAST TIME OUT
Columbia looked to end their Ivy League road trip on a high with opportunities to earn season sweeps over Harvard and Dartmouth. However, the Lions lost in three sets to both the Crimson (21-25, 19-25, 18-25) and Big Green (13-25, 12-25, 26-28). Leading Columbia's attack through the weekend was first-year Emily Teehan, who had 10 kills and 11 digs against Harvard before posting a match-high 15 kills (.281) against Dartmouth. The rookie marked her team-best eighth double-double in the process and took over sole possession of first place in the Ivy League in aces, increasing her total to 28 (0.39/set) on the campaign. Teehan went on to be named to the Ivy League Honor Roll for the fourth time this season to go with two Rookie of the Week selections. Last weekend's action also saw first-year middle Isa Lamus tie her season-high of seven blocks against the Crimson Junior libero Kalie Wood racked up a match-high 17 digs, including seven in the second set alone, while Luciana Del Valle went for a match-high 16 the following day at Dartmouth.

LAST TIME AGAINST PRINCETON & PENN
Columbia began its five-match road trip three weeks ago at Penn and Princeton but came out on the losing end of two three-set matches. In their matchup against Penn, the Lions struggled through the first two sets but started to find their way in the third, taking their first lead of the set, 9-8, off a block by senior Luciana Del Valle and junior Rose Compton. The remainder of the frame saw the two sides stay within two points of each other. After coming level for a 13th time at 23-all, Penn put away the match off consecutive kills by sophomore Parker Jones and senior Grace James. The next day saw Columbia start off hot against the defending Ivy League champions Princeton. The Lions led by at least four points in the early parts of both the second and third sets but were unable to hold on either time. Princeton countered a 7-2 Lions start to the second set with 16 of the next 19 points to take a two-set lead. The Lions continued to fight and held a 12-8 lead at the midpoint of the third but would only score four points the rest of the way as Princeton put down seven unanswered to complete the sweep.

HOME DOMINANCE
Columbia boasts a home record of 23-7 (.767) since the start of the 2016 season. The Lions went 11-3 at home in 2016, 7-2 last season and are currently 5-2 this year. Over that time, the Lions are also 14-5 (.737) in home Ivy League matches, going 6-1 in 2016 and 5-2 in 2017. Last season, the Lions defeated eventual Ivy League champion Princeton at Levien Gymnasium in five sets, marking the first win over the Tigers since 2012.

HONOR ROLLING
First-year Emily Teehan made her fourth appearance on the Ivy League Honor Roll for her performance last weekend at Harvard and Dartmouth. The rookie totaled 25 kills (4.17/set), three aces and 16 digs (2.67/set) despite a pair of three-set defeats. Teehan also has two Rookie of the Week selections to her credit, earning the honors in back-to-back weeks on October 1 and October 8. Her six combined weekly honors are the most by any Lion this season.

IVY LEAGUE WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS
September 17: Player of the Week – Chichi Ikwuazom
October 1: Rookie of the Week – Emily Teehan
October 8: Rookie of the Week – Emily Teehan

IVY LEAGUE WEEKLY HONOR ROLL
September 3: Isa Lamus, Emily Teehan
September 10: Chichi Ikwuazom, Kalie Wood
September 17: Emily Teehan
September 24: Chichi Ikwuazom, Kalie Wood
October 1: Chichi Ikwuazom, Lauren Wilkins
October 8: Isa Lamus
October 15: Luciana Del Valle
October 22: Emily Teehan, Lauren Wilkins
October 29: Emily Teehan

ACING THE COMPETITION
Columbia still reigns as one of the nation's best teams in service aces. The Lions enter the weekend ranked No. 58 in the NCAA and are ranked second the Ivy League in aces per set (1.49). Emily Teehan (0.39/set) and Kalie Wood (0.35/set) go No. 1 and 2 in the league's statistical rankings with Teehan also cracking the NCAA's rankins at No. 62. Both have also recorded the most total aces in the Ivy League with 28 and 25, respectively. Last season, Columbia averaged 1.73 aces per set, ranking No. 1 in the Ivies and No. 8 in the final NCAA statistical rankings.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT

Princeton (15-4, 8-2 Ivy)
Series: Princeton leads 46-7 (since 1988)
Last Meeting: Oct. 13, 2018 at Princeton
Result: Princeton 3 – Columbia 0 (20-25, 15-25, 16-25)

Team Leaders:
Kills: Maggie O'Connell – 227, 3.34/set
Hitting Pct: Clare Lenihan – .391 (min. 1.00 kill/set)
Assists: Jessie Harris – 800, 11.76/set
Digs: Cameron Dames – 307, 4.09/set
Blocks: Caroline Sklaver – 47.0, 0.73/set
Aces: Devon Peterkin – 24, 0.33/set

The reigning Ivy League Champions find themselves second in the standings after a recent loss to title contenders Yale (9-1 Ivy). Princeton enters play 15-6 overall with two Ivy League losses. Last weekend's loss to Yale snapped Princeton's was three-game winning streak before they bounce back with a three-set thumping of last-place Brown (25-15, 25-16, 25-14). Defensively and offensively sound, Princeton rank first in hitting percentage (.251), assists (989), kills (1,050), and digs (1,260). The Tigers attack will be spearheaded by Ivy League leaders Clare Lenihan (.391 hitting), Jessie Harris (11.76 assists/set) and reigning Ivy League Player of the Year Maggie O'Connell (3.34 kills/set).

Penn (5-16, 2-8 Ivy)
Series: Penn leads 44-8 (since 1988)
Last Meeting: Oct. 12, 2018 at Penn
Result: Penn 3 – Columbia 0 (16-25, 15-25, 23-25)

Team Leaders:
Kills: Raven Sulaimon – 214, 2.93/set
Hitting Pct: Taylor Cooper – .273 (min 1.00 kill/set)
Assists: Grace James – 497, 9.20/set
Digs: Caroline Furrer – 287, 3.83/set
Blocks: Taylor Cooper – 66.0, 0.93/set
Aces: Caroline Ferrer – 17, 0.23/set

Penn enters the weekend tied for last in the Ivy League with a record of 2-8. The Quakers have lost the first three of their five-match road trip at Princeton, Brown and Yale. Their two Ivy League wins came at home the weekend of Oct. 12-13 over the Lions and Big Red. Penn will be looking to Grace James, who ranks third in the Ivy League in assists (9.20/set), to aid in their attack. The Quakers rank last in the Ivy League in opponent hitting percentage (.237), aces (1.07/set), opponent aces (1.72/set) and digs (12.87/set). Meanwhile, they rank second-to-last in five additional categories.

WATCH ON ESPN+
After the Ivy League announced its partnership with ESPN, all home and Ivy League volleyball matches are scheduled to be played on the ESPN+ this fall. To sign up for ESPN+ for as low as $4.99/month or $49.99/annually, and catch all the action this season click here.