NEW YORK – In what was the first sweep against an Ivy League team since 2017, Columbia Volleyball (9-5, 2-2 IVY) took down the Harvard Crimson (3-10, 1-3 IVY) in straight sets, 3-0, to snag a win in the Ivy League home opener Friday night at Levien Gym, with senior Chichi Ikwuazom recording a game-high 14 kills.
 
Ikwuazom, who hit .385 and assisted on six blocks, was again a force for the Lions, but she was joined by sophomore Emily Teehan in double-digit kills, finishing with 11 while hitting .227.  As a team the Lions were a force on the net, finishing with a season-high 14 team blocks, while holding the Crimson to a season-low hitting percentage of .099.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: The first set was a battle from the start, with Columbia and Harvard trading points, but at 5-5 the Lions took control of the action, with junior Audrey Cheng holding serve over four straight points, the Lions pushed ahead, 10-5.  But, in what would be a theme throughout, the Crimson would not go away without a fight and they worked the score back to 10-9.
 
The Lions attempted to pull away, but every attempt was answered by Harvard and the score would eventually tie back up at 22-22 as the Lions and Harvard seemed to truly be evenly matched.  But a key timeout called by head coach Allison Keeley, calmed the Lions down, and despite the Crimson again tying the match at 23-23, a kill from Ikwuazom and a big-time block from Teehan and Ikwuazom gave the Lions the final two points and the first set win, 25-23.
 
During the second set, the action played out almost identically to the first set, with both sides trading points throughout, and Harvard seemingly having the answer every time Columbia attempted to pull away.  Columbia held a 10-8 lead but could not put Harvard away and down the stretch the score sat at 19-18.
 
It was over the final few points decided, that the Lions set themselves apart from the Crimson, and a kill from Ikwauzom sparked the Lions to the second set victory.  Sophomore Shari Stenglein would hold serve over three points to help Columbia push the score to 23-18, and despite Stenglein losing serve, the Lions quickly took back the momentum, with a kill from first-year Pierce Woodall and another from Ikwuazom locked up the 25-20 win.
 
After holding off Harvard over the first two sets, the Lions easily dispatched the Crimson during the third and final set to record the sweep, but the set did start close with the score at 10-9 early in the action.  But the Lions went on a 3-0 run, with Stenglein again holding serve, and shortly after that they hit another 3-0 run, this time first-year Chloe Rutledge held serve for Columbia, and when that run came to an end, Columbia led 19-11.
 
Another big block from Ikwuazom and Woodall, with the score at 23-15, put an exclamation point on the match and a long attack attempt by Harvard finished things as the Lions recorded the sweep, with a 25-15 third set win and a 3-0 victory.
 
GAME NOTES: Teehan now has at least 10 kills in four straight matches ... The .099 opponent hitting percentage is the lowest that Columbia has a team till since holding Fordham to .033 on Sept. 14, 2018 ... Columbia's 14 blocks is a season-high and the most since recording 14 blocks against Dartmouth on Sept. 28, 2018 ... The Lions held Harvard to only 28 digs which is the least amount of digs by an opponent in at least three seasons.
 
UP NEXT: Columbia remains at Levien Gym as they welcome Dartmouth to Morningside on Saturday, Oct. 12 with that Ivy League matchup set to start at 5 p.m.
 
FOLLOWING THE LIONS: Stay up to date on all things Columbia Volleyball by following the Lions on Twitter (@CUVB), Instagram (@columbiawvb) and on Facebook (@ColumbiaAthletics).