BROOKLYN, N.Y. – After falling in a two-set hole, Columbia Volleyball (7-2) found their game, and thanks to a 25-9 third set domination, the Lions completed a five-set comeback to beat the LIU Sharks (1-11), 3-2, in what was Columbia's fourth straight win and the second straight five-set victory for the Cardiac Lions, on Saturday afternoon at the Steinberg Wellness Center.
 
Senior Chichi Ikwuazom was once again unstoppable, recording 28 kills while hitting .521 to lead the Lions attack once again.  First-year Kiara Robichaud was on her game as well, hitting .360 with 11 kills to help balance the Columbia offense.  Junior Audrey Cheng, was solid running the offense as well, setting at .456 percent, recording 47 assists.
 
Columbia's defense was solid throughout, as they held the Sharks to an .269 attack percentage while hitting .324 themselves.  The Lions also out dug the Sharks, 63 to 58, in an exciting all-around performance by the Lions.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: LIU came out and took the first two sets in commanding fashion, controlling the action throughout, winning set one, 25-16 and set two, 25-14, to take a 2-0 lead.  But that would be it for LIU, as the Lions would come out in the third set, and for them the match truly began.
 
When the third set ended, Ikwuazom had nine kills in the set and she was the driving force for what became the momentum flipping moment of the match, but the set did start with both teams trading points and with the score tied at 6-6, the Lions woke up.  LIU would score only three points over the next 22 points contested, as the Lions steamrolled the Sharks in the set to grab control of the match.
 
Ikuwazom, really came alive near the end of that third set, scoring five of the final seven points with kills to wrap up the 25-9 third set victory.  It set the stage for a completive fourth set, that saw both sides again trading points throughout, and the score eventually wound up tying up at 10-10 midway through the set.
 
From that point, Ikwuazom would record four kills and Robichaud added two kills of her own, as the Lions stayed side-by-side with the Sharks with the scoring tying up as late as 21-21.  But Cheng took the serve and a pair of points, helped along by a block by junior Kaitlin Schultz and first-year Soah Franklin, pushed the Lions in front for good and the 25-22 fourth set win meant that it was time, for the second straight night, for a fifth and deciding set.
 
Despite it being the second straight night of five-set action, the Lions were riding high on their momentum of winning the previous two sets and showed little fatigue as again the set began with both sides going back-and-forth and the set would be tied up at 11-11 midway through.  LIU started to slightly pull ahead at that point, going up 13-11, but two points to victory would be as close as the Sharks would get as a key timeout called by head coach Allison Keeley calmed the Lions down, and they were launched out of their timeout with a kill by Ikwuazom.
 
First-year Vanessa Pan then took serve, with the score at 13-13, and ace by Pan and an attack error by LIU's Kora Schaberl, gave the Lions the final two points they needed to lock up the thrilling five-set comeback, 3-2, and their fourth straight win.
 
GAME NOTES: Ikwuazom was one off her career-high in kills with 28, and she now has 159 kills over the past six matches ... Cheng recorded her second straight double-double and sixth of the season ... The Lions' 25-9 third set win was the largest margin of victory for Columbia since taking down Yale, 25-9, in 2017 ... This was the first time since 2017 that the Lions have played in back-to-back five-set matches.
 
UP NEXT: Columbia will next open up Ivy League play, with a Saturday, Sept. 28 visit to Cornell with that match set to get started 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).