NEW YORK – Both sophomore Emily Teehan and senior Chichi Ikwuazom had themselves a night, with Teehan recording 17 kills and Ikuwazom adding 19, as Columbia Volleyball (10-5, 3-2 IVY) took down the Dartmouth Big Green (5-9, 1-4 IVY) in four sets, 3-1, to complete the Ivy League weekend sweep at Levien Gym on Saturday evening.
 
Ikwuazom hit .208 on the night, but was strong on the net collecting nine blocks, while Teehan had arguably her best match of the season, hitting .286 while adding eight digs in a strong performance by the Lions.  Not to be outdone, first-year Pierce Woodall had her best night in her young collegiate career, finishing with a career-high eight kills and she added five digs to help Columbia to the win.
 
For the second straight night, the Lions were a force at the net, finishing with 14 blocks, while hitting .216 as a team.  Defensively, besides just the blocks, Columbia held the Big Green to .132 hitting percentage as the Lions had a sideout percentage of 60 percent throughout the action.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Lions came out on fire, taking a quick 11-4 lead early through the first set, with Ikwuazom racking up three kills over the first five points contested to set the tone at the net for the Lions.  Following another kill from Ikwuazom, the Big Green took a timeout, with the score at 17-10 in Columbia's favor, but the Lions continued to control the action, pushing their lead to 24-17.  It took a few points, with Dartmouth hitting a 3-0 run to make it 24-20, but following a service error from Dartmouth's Lauren Douglas, the Lions took the first set, 25-20.
 
Much like the first set, Columbia came out and took an 11-5 lead early in the set.  But despite the early lead, Dartmouth hit a few runs through the set and the score sat at 20-18, with Columbia still in front.  But a 6-0 run started at that point for Dartmouth, pushed the Big Green in front, for the first time in the match, and they would eventually take the set, 25-23, to tie things up at 1-1.
 
The blueprint of the previous two sets was followed at the start of the third, with the Lions again jumping out in front and taking an 11-6 lead, thanks to three kills from Ikwuazom and a pair of kills from Woodall.  But Dartmouth came back, powered by another 6-0 run, and the score sat at 15-14 midway through the action.
 
Columbia looked to pull away for good, with Teehan racking up a pair of kills late in the set, but again Dartmouth found a run, and over the final 11 points scored the Big Green scored six and at one point the set was tied at 22-22.  That's when Woodall took serve, following a Dartmouth attack error, and the Lion first-year held serve over the final two points, powered by a block by Ikwuazom and junior Audrey Cheng at 23-22, to give Columbia the 25-22 third set win and a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
A 12-6 lead for Columbia materialized over the opening stretch of the fourth set thanks to five kills by Teehan over the first 16 points contested, but again the Lions could not put the Big Green away as they worked themselves back into the match getting the score to 22-20 late in the action.  But it was at that point that the Lion attack and defense worked as one, and a kill from Woodall, at 22-21, and a huge block by Ikwuazom and Cheng, at 23-21, allowed for Ikwuazom to snag the winning kill as the Lions took the set, 25-22, and the match, 3-1, to complete the weekend sweep at home.
 
GAME NOTES: Teehan now has at least 10 kills in five straight matches ... Teehan's 17 kills is a season-high ... Woodall had a career-high eight kills ... The Lions have now recorded 14 blocks in back-to-back matches, the first time doing exactly 14 kills in back-to-back matches since collecting 14 in back-to-back matches against Princeton and Cornell in 2017 ... The Lions have now matched their win total (10) from the past two seasons.
 
UP NEXT: The Lions hit the road, next weekend, for another Ivy League weekend when they head to Yale on Friday, Oct. 18, before wrapping up the road trip at Brown on Saturday, Oct. 19.  Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+.
 
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).