Lions Go Back-to-Back with Dartmouth and Harvard This Weekend

Friday, September 28

New York, N.Y.

7:00 P.M.

Columbia University

Dartmouth

2018 Volleyball Point Celebration vs. SFC High Angle

Photo by: Columbia University Athletics/Mike McLaughlin

Lions Go Back-to-Back with Dartmouth and Harvard This Weekend

9/26/2018 2:32:00 PM | Volleyball

ESPN+ vs. Dartmouth ESPN+ vs. Harvard Live Stats @CUVB on Twitter

Volleyball plays two Ivy League matches at Levien Gymnasium this Friday and Saturday night, looking to bounce back from last Saturday's defeat against Cornell

NEW YORK — The Columbia volleyball team (6-5, 0-1 Ivy) hosts Dartmouth (5-6, 1-0 Ivy) and Harvard (5-5, 0-1 Ivy) in its first back-to-back of the Ivy League season this weekend. The action at Levien Gymnasium begins Friday night at 7 p.m. against the Big Green, followed by a 5 p.m. first serve on Saturday against the Crimson.

Both of this weekend's matches will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Live stats will be provided by GoColumbiaLions.com with live updates also available by following @CUVB on Twitter.

LION LEADERS
Total Kills: Emily Teehan – 118, 2.95/set
Hitting Percentage: Chichi Ikwuazom – .335 (min. 1.00 kill/set)
Total Assists: Audrey Cheng – 324, 8.10/set
Total Digs: Kalie Wood – 179, 4.48/set
Total Blocks: Chichi Ikuwazom – 27.0, 0.93/set
Total Aces: Kalie Wood – 15, 0.38/set

IVY LEAGUE LEADERS (TOP 5)
Kills/Set: No. 2 - Chichi Ikwuazom (3.45)
Hitting Percentage: No. 5 - Chichi Ikwuazom (.335)
Aces/Set: No. 2 - Kalie Wood (0.38), No. 4 - Emily Teehan (0.35)
Digs/Set: No. 3 - Kalie Wood (4.48)
Points/Set: No. 2 - Chichi Ikwuazom (4.02), No. 5 - Emily Teehan (3.44)

LAST TIME OUT
Columbia rallied after dropping the first two sets of its Ivy League opener against Cornell but was ultimately defeated in four sets (23-25, 18-25, 25-22, 25-27) last Saturday at Levien Gymnasium. The Lions saved Cornell's first match point in the fourth and even had a chance to force a fifth set leading 25-24, but the Big Red spoiled the afternoon by taking the final three points to clinch the contest in four. Senior Lauren Wilkins and first-year Emily Teehan combined for 23 of Columbia's 46 kills. Teehan added 10 digs for her fifth double-double while junior libero Kalie Wood total a match-high 19 digs. Junior middle Chichi Ikwuazom recorded nine kills and a season-high seven blocks.

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 for matches played Sept. 10-16. Ikwuazom led the Lions to a 3-1 record that 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 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
September 24 – Chichi Ikwuazom, Kalie Wood

ACING THE COMPETITION
Columbia is once again among the nation's best teams in service aces. The Lions rank among the top 50 in the NCAA in aces per set and lead the Ivy League heading into the weekend (1.63). Kalie Wood (0.38) and Emily Teehan (0.35) rank among the Ivy's top five individually. Last season, Columbia averaged 1.73 aces per set, ranking atop the Ivy League and No. 8 in the final NCAA statistical rankings.

HOME DOMINANCE
Despite last Saturday's loss to Cornell, Columbia is 20-6 (.769) 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 11-4 (.733) 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.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Dartmouth (5-6, 1-0 Ivy)
Series: Dartmouth leads 25-23 (since 1988)
Last Meeting: Oct. 28, 2017 at Columbia
Result: Columbia 3 – Dartmouth 1 (23-25, 25-18, 25-20, 25-17)

Team Leaders:
Kills: Nicole Liddle – 102, 3.19/set
Hitting Pct: Francesca Meldrum – .363
Assists: Corinne Cox – 172, 4.78/set
Digs: Zoe Leonard – 140, 4.00/set
Blocks: Francesca Meldrum – 37.0, 1.09/set
Aces: Annemarie Horn – 9, 0.28/set

Dartmouth is statistically the best blocking team in the Ivy League and averages a league-best 2.26 blocks per set. The Big Green are led in that category by rookie Francesca Meldrum who has totaled a team-best 37.0 total blocks. She and sophomore Tola Akinwumi (1.12/set) rank top three in the league in blocks per set. Meldrum is also second in the league in hitting percentage (.363) while Nicole Liddle is fourth in kills per set (3.19). Dartmouth outlasted Harvard in five sets last Friday, defeating the Crimson for the first time since 2015 (24-26, 25-21, 21-25, 25-17, 17-15). Sophomore Mallen Bischoff (11 kills, 13 digs) and junior Corinne Cox (25 assists, 14 digs) posted a double-doubles.

Harvard (5-5, 0-1 Ivy)
Series: Harvard leads 38-17 (since 1988)
Last Meeting: Oct. 27, 2017 at Columbia
Result: Columbia 3 – Harvard 2 (18-25, 25-21, 20-25, 25-23, 15-11)

Team Leaders:
Kills: Christina Cornelius – 99, 2.36/set
Hitting Pct: Maclaine Fields – .314
Assists: Bella Almanza – 266, 6.33/set
Digs: Anna Uhr – 146, 3.48/set
Blocks: Christina Cornelius – 42, 1.00/set
Aces: Anna Uhr – 17, 0.40/set

Harvard saw its four-match winning streak come to an end in last Friday's Ivy opener in New Hampshire. The Crimson played a challenging non-conference slate that included four matchups with 2017 NCAA Tournament teams. Two of those opponents were No. 17 Michigan and 2017 Elite Eight participant Michigan State. Regardless, Harvard enters the weekend ranked last in the Ivy League in hitting percentage (.141), kills per set (10.74), assists per set (9.95) and opponent blocks per set (2.62). They'll be looking to improve on those numbers in Ivy League play behind kills leader Christina Cornelius (2.36/set) and hitting leader Maclaine Fields (.314). Senior libero Anna Uhr leads the Ivy League in aces per set (0.40) and ranks seventh in digs per set (3.45).

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.