PRINCETON, N.J. – Senior Chichi Ikwuazom was again a force for Columbia Volleyball (7-5, 0-2 IVY), collecting 24 kills on the night, but her performance was not enough for the Lions to get their first Ivy League win of the season, as Columbia fell, 3-1, to the Princeton Tigers (6-5, 2-0 IVY) on Friday night at Dillon Gym.
 
Ikwuazom hit .442 on the night as she was strong throughout the match for the Lions and was the focal point for the Columbia attack, but she was not alone on the attack as sophomore Emily Teehan had a season-high 18 kills, hitting .225, to give the Lions a pair with double-figure kills.  As a team, the Lions collected more digs (50) and assists (43) then the Tigers, but Princeton was strong at the net, recording 11 blocks to Columbia's five.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Lions came out of the gate to start the match by collecting the first three points, powered by two Ikwuazom kills.  Columbia continued to control the opening portion of the first set, and they held a 15-9 lead midway through the set, but Princeton began to flip the score and they caught and passed the Lions at 18-18. Despite head coach Allison Keeley's attempts to calm Columbia down with a pair of late timeouts, the Tigers would take the first set, 25-19.
 
Unlike the first set, both Columbia and Princeton began the set firing on all cylinders, as both sides traded points throughout, and midway through the action the score was tied at 10-10.  A key to the Lions' success in the set was first-year Mckenzy Metter's solid serving and she was serving when Columbia tied it at 10-10, but where she was clutch was when the score was 18-17 and she took serve. 
 
She would serve Columbia to three straight points, that included a kill from Ikwuzaom and an ace from Metter and despite a late comeback attempt from Princeton, Columbia held on to take the second set, 25-22.
 
The third set would be a true battle between the two sides, with Columbia and Princeton tying each other 10 times throughout the set, with the first tie coming at 10-10 after sophomore Shari Stenglein served the Lions to the tie.  It was back-and-forth from that point onward, but an attack error by Teehan, which gave Princeton set point at 24-21, gave Columbia the opportunity to show the fight that the Lions have shown all year, and Teehan bounced right back with a kill and the score would work itself to 24-24 thanks to four straight points. 
 
But Princeton would take the next two points to take the set, 26-24 and take a 2-1 advantage heading into the fourth set.  Princeton would ride that late momentum gained into the fourth set, where they would dictate the action and take the fourth, and what was deciding set, 25-15, to take the match 3-1.
 
GAME NOTES: Ikwuazom's 24 kills gives her at least 20 kills in 10 matches so far this season ... Ikwuazom's .576 hitting percentage was the second-best percentage in a four-set match so far this season for Ikwuazom ... Teehan recorded her second double-double of the season, 18 kills and 10 digs.
 
UP NEXT: The Lions stay on the road as they continue the weekend with another Ivy League matchup, this time a Saturday, Oct. 5 visit to Penn is in the cards as that match is set to get started at 5 p.m.
 
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