NEW YORK – On Senior Night, where Columbia Volleyball (11-11, 4-8 IVY) honored seniors
Grace Campbell,
Rose Compton,
Kalie Wood and
Chichi Ikwuazom, the Lions fell in straight sets, 3-0, to the Yale Bulldogs (14-7, 10-2 IVY) in the final home match of the 2019 season at Levien Gym on Saturday night.
All four Lion seniors got the start and Campbell finished with a team-high 14 assists in the match, while Ikwuazom had a match-high 17 kills in a strong effort that fell just short by Columbia. Despite struggling with their hitting percentage, the Lions were strong on the block, racking up seven total blocks in the match.
HOW IT HAPPENED: While the Lions would not pick up a set in the match, they did not make it easy for Yale as through the first set things would be tied up 11 times throughout and when the set reached its halfway point the score would knot up at 11-11, 12-12 and 13-13 and at that point the Lions would take a small lead, pushing ahead to 17-14. But Yale would answer and down the stretch the Bulldogs pulled away to take the first set, 25-23 and they took a 1-0 lead into the second set.
During the second set, Yale grabbed control early, taking a 10-5 lead early, and they would lead throughout the set. The Lions did fight back, tying the match at 13-13, but at that point, despite Ikwuazom racking up six kills in the set, the Bulldogs took a lead they would not give back and when the set finished Yale was leading 25-16, taking a 2-0 lead into the third set.
Columbia, looking to fight off the potential sweep, came out and took a quick 5-3 lead, but again Yale had an answer and they caught and passed the Lions to take a 14-10 lead. But a three-point stretch that saw first-year
Kiara Robichaud hold serve and junior
Audrey Cheng recording a kill, allowed the Lions to tie things up at 14-14, as the third set reached the midway point.
Unfortunately, for Columbia the trend of Yale having the answer continued, and the Bulldogs would begin to stretch its lead and they would eventually finish the match with a 25-19 third set win and a 3-0 win in the match.
GAME NOTES: Ikwuazom now sits ninth on the Ivy League single-season kills records list ... Campbell's 14 assists were the most she has recorded in an Ivy League match this season.
UP NEXT: Columbia wraps up the 2019 season with one final road trip, starting with Dartmouth on Friday, Nov. 15 before wraping up the season with a visit to Harvard on Saturday, Nov. 16.
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).
