PROVIDENCE, R.I. – 21 kills by senior Chichi Ikwuazom was not enough for Columbia Volleyball (10-7, 3-4 IVY) to pull off the road win as the Lions fell in four sets, 3-1, at Brown (10-7, 2-5 IVY) on Saturday evening at the Pizzitola Center.
 
Ikwuazom, who in the previous match had her first match without at least 10 kills throughout the season, came back with a vengeance to record the 21 kills while hitting .567 on the night.  First-year Pierce Woodall continued her strong conference performance, finishing with 10 kills and five digs, while as a team the Lions had 59 digs to Brown's 55 and the two sides had 10 block each during the match.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: The match opened up with Columbia taking the first set, in what was a closely contested battle to 25 points.  The Lions took the lead early, stretching ahead 13-9, thanks to Woodall's kill at 13-8.  The Bears then worked their way back into the set, getting as close as 18-17, following a service error by junior Audrey Cheng, but the Lions would bounce right back over the final points of the set, and they would take seven of the final nine points, with Woodall recording three kills during that stretch, including the set winning kill, to give Columbia a 25-19 first set win.
 
The second set started a lot like the first, with both sides battling over the first handful of points, and midway through the set the Lions and Bears were tied up at 14-14.  But from there the Bears would begin to pull away, going on a 3-0 run, ended by a timeout by head coach Allison Keeley, and a quick 2-0 run following the break that put the score at 19-15 in favor of Brown.  Unfortunately for the Lions, they would only muster two points, following the 19-15 point, and one final timeout by Keeley, at 20-16, could not stop the Bears as they took the second set, 25-17, to tie the match up at 1-1.
 
Columbia came out in the third set and quickly took a 5-2 lead, thanks to three kills by Ikwuazom and a service ace by senior Kalie Wood, but the Lions would struggle over the next handful of points and the Bears would catch the Lions and the two would go back-and-forth eventually tying up at 11-11.  In what was the most competitive set of the night, the score would be tied up nine times following the 11-11 mark, with Brown hitting a 4-0 run when the score tied for the final time at 21-21, and a final kill from Ikwuazom only delayed the end of the set as the Bears took the set, 25-22, giving them a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
Needing just one more set to win the match, Brown took the lead for good in the fourth set at the 5-5 mark and would control the action throughout, despite five kills from Ikwuazom and a pair of kills from first years Soah Franklin and Noelle Foster, Columbia could not work its way back into the set and fell to Brown, 25-17, giving the Bears a 3-1 win in the match.
 
GAME NOTES: Woodall's 10 kills is a career-high and she collected a career-high 14 kills over a weekend of two matches ... Ikwuazom's 21 kills gives her at least 20 kills in 12 matches this season.
 
UP NEXT: Columbia returns to Morningside for the first of five straight home matches, when Cornell comes to Levien Gym on Saturday, Oct. 26, with that match set to get going at 2 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).