Columbia University
Cornell
Volleyball Hosts Cornell Saturday for Ivy League Opener
9/21/2018 10:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Columbia looks to stay hot at home, where it will play each of its first five Ivy League matches over the next three weekends
NEW YORK — The Columbia volleyball team (6-4) begins Ivy League play on Saturday with a home match against Cornell (5-5). First serve from Levien Gymnasium is scheduled for 2 p.m.
Saturday's game will be available on ESPN+. Live stats will be accessible on GoColumbiaLions.com.
LION LEADERS
Total Kills: Emily Teehan – 107, 2.97/set
Total Assists: Audrey Cheng – 295, 8.19/set
Total Digs: Kalie Wood – 160, 4.44/set
Total Blocks: Rose Compton – 26.0, 0.79/set
Total Aces: Kalie Wood – 15, 0.42/set
LAST WEEKEND
Columbia played four matches last weekend, opening the home season on Friday with three-set sweeps over St. Francis Brooklyn and Fordham, followed by a five-set victory over Hofstra and three-set loss to Seton Hall on Saturday at the Hofstra Invitational. The Lions dominated Friday's Big Apple Battle behind junior middle Chichi Ikwuazom and first-year outside Emily Teehan, who combined to hit .511 with 26 kills against St. Francis and .309 with 21 kills against Fordham. Columbia held on to defeat Hofstra in five the next day after winning the first two sets but dropping the next two and rallying from down 6-1 in the fifth. Seton Hall got the best of the Lions in what was Columbia's fourth match in a span of a little more than 24 hours.
CHICHI AWARDED FIRST PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Junior middle Chichi Ikwuazom was named Ivy League Player of the Week for the first time in her career on Monday. Ikwuazom led the Lions to a 3-1 record over the weekend, including home sweeps over St. Francis and Fordham, as well as a five-set triumph at Hofstra. The two-time First Team All-Ivy League selection wrapped up the weekend hitting .400 with 54 kills (3.86/set) and 12 blocks (0.86/set). Her highlights included a 14-kill performance and .545 hitting percentage against St. Francis, followed by 13 kills and a season-high five blocks the following day at Hofstra. Ikwuazom was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week three times in 2016.
IVY LEAGUE WEEKLY HONOR ROLL
September 3 – Isa Lamus, Emily Teehan
September 10 – Chichi Ikwuazom, Kalie Wood
September 17 – Chichi Ikwuazom (POTW), Emily Teehan
HOME DOMINANCE
With wins in each of its first two home matches this season, Columbia improved to 20-5 on its home court since the start of the 2016 season. The Lions went 11-3 at home in 2016 and followed with a 7-2 mark a season ago. Over that time, the Lions are also 11-3 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.
IVY LEAGUE OPENERS
Columbia is 7-2 in its last nine Ivy League openers. Each of Columbia's last 18 Ivy League openers have come against Cornell – the last time the Lions opened against a different team was 1999 against Dartmouth. Last season, The last time Columbia opened up at home against Cornell, the Lions came back from two sets down to defeat the Big Red and begin the league season 1-0 (14-25, 22-25, 27-25, 25-21, 15-9). Cornell won last season's Ivy League opener in four sets up in Ithaca.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Cornell (5-5, 0-0 Ivy)
Series: Cornell leads 39-12 (since 1988)
Last Meeting: Oct. 21, 2017 at Columbia
Result: Columbia 3 – Cornell 1 (25-20, 25-15, 23-25, 25-19)
Team Leaders:
Kills: Carla Sganderlla – 101, 3.06/set
Assists: Zoe Chamness – 233, 5.97/set
Digs: Lily Barber – 195, 4.62/set
Blocks: Jenna Phelps – 36.0, 1.06/set
Aces: Lily Barber – 10, 0.25/set
Cornell comes in with an even .500 record through the non-conference season. The Big Red opened the year hosting the Cornell Invitational and earned back-to-back five-set victories over Buffalo and Siena before falling to St. John's in three. Cornell went 2-2 at a tournament in Houston before ending non-conference play last weekend at Valparaiso's Crusader Classic. After falling to the hosts in four and Wright State in five, they salvaged a sweep over Western Illinois before heading back to Ithaca. Junior DS Lily Barber is No. 2 in the Ivy League in digs per set (4.63) while senior outside Carla Sganderlla is fifth in kills per set (3.06). Cornell was picked fourth in the Ivy League Preseason Poll.
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.
