PHILADELPHIA – In what was a true team effort, Columbia Volleyball (8-5, 1-2 IVY) snagged its first Ivy League win of the season with a four-set (3-1) victory at Penn (7-5, 0-3 IVY), with senior Chichi Ikwuazom once again getting 20 kills on the night as the Lions controlled the floor at The Palestra on Saturday night.
 
Ikwuazom, who hit .552, was a force all night for the Lions, only committing four errors on 29 attacks to power the Lion attack.  Joining her in the attack was sophomore Emily Teehan, who for the second straight night collected double-digit, finishing with 13 kills.  As a team, the Lions had more attacks (56-48), digs (44-35) and they out hit the Quakers, .354-.246, in a match that was a complete performance across all sets.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Lions came out on fire and quickly jumped on the Quakers through the first stretch of the first set, at one point leading 10-3.  Columbia's hot start was powered by first-year Pierce Woodall holding serve for three straight points and, while senior Kalie Wood was serving, Teehan had back-to-back kills as the Lions controlled the action early.
 
Penn attempted to climb back into the set, and a timeout from Penn with the Lions leading 20-11, calmed the Quakers down and they eventually worked the score to 23-18, forcing head coach Allison Keeley to take a timeout in an attempt to stop the 5-0 run by Penn.  The timeout worked and the Lions held off the late charging Quakers to take the set, 25-20, and take an early 1-0 lead.
 
Through the second set, Ikwuazom added six kills to her totals, and she was key to Columbia again jumping on the Quakers early, taking a 12-4 lead.  During that early stretch, Woodall held serve for four straight points, and junior Audrey Cheng held for three straight points, as Ikwuazom recorded three of her six kills in the set over that opening stretch.
 
The second set was a different affair from the first simply because the Quakers did come back into the set, eventually tying things up at 20-20 and forcing the Lions to dig deep if they wanted to lock up the set win.  Dig deep they did, as Teehan held serve over the final three points, while first-year Soah Franklin and junior Kaitlin Schultz added a pair of kills to give Columbia the 25-21 second set victory.
 
Penn would take the third set, forcing a fourth, but the Lions did not just lay down and let the Quakers take the set, fighting back from an early 10-4 deficit to tie things up six times through the tail end of the set.  But Penn would hold Columbia off to take the set, 25-22.
 
During the early stretch of the fourth set, both Columbia and Penn traded points, but the Lions came out on top after the first 12 points, leading 12-10.  During those first 12 points, a collection of Lions recorded kills, but Ikwuazom led the way with three to help power the Lions to a lead they would not give back.
 
Riding the momentum they racked up during the beginning part of the set, the Lions would hit 20 points, while Penn only had 17, with their eyes on the victory.  Both sides traded serves and points, but Penn did not go away and with the Lion sitting on match point at 24-20, the Quakers snatched two quick points to make it 24-22.
 
Keeley took a timeout, and despite the Quakers getting the first point out of the break, Teehan had the answer as her kill on a set from Cheng would slam the floor and give the Lions its first Ivy League win of the season, as they took the fourth and final set 25-23 and the match 3-1.
 
GAME NOTES: Ikwuazom's 20 kills gives her at least 20 kills in 11 matches so far this season ... Ikwuazom's .552 hitting percentage was the third-best percentage in a four-set match so far this season for Ikwuazom ... Teehan has now snagged at least 10 kills in three straight matches ... The Lions hit .354 which is the best hitting percentage they have recorded so far this season ... The last three matches Columbia has registered at least 50 kills.
 
UP NEXT: Columbia returns to Morningside when they host Harvard, on Friday, Oct. 11, and Dartmouth, on Saturday, Oct. 12, for the first two Ivy League matches at Levien Gym for the 2019 season.
 
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).