NEW YORK – Despite 23 kills and a scorching hitting percentage of .576 by senior Chichi Ikwuazom, Columbia Volleyball's (7-4, 0-1 IVY) attempt at a comeback fell short against the Stony Brook Seawolves (5-11, 0-1 AEC), falling 3-1 on Monday night at Levien Gym.
 
Ikwuazom was a force for Columbia all night, collecting those 23 kills on 33 total attacks, commiting only four errors through the night as the Seawolves did not have an answer for the Lion senior.  Sophomore Emily Teehan added 10 kills of her own, as junior Audrey Cheng recorded a double-double with 36 assists and 12 digs as Columbia played hard throughout the evening.
 
As a team, the Lions had 44 assists and had 50 kills to Stony Brook's 46.  But where the Seawolves did beat out the Lions was on the service where Columbia's three aces could not match Stony Brook's eight aces through the match.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: The opening stretch of the match was a close affair, with both sides trading points, but with the score tied at 6-6, Stony Brook held serve, with Amiyah De'Long handling the duties, for four straight points to push ahead 7-9.  That was a lead that the Seawolves would not give back and over the remainder of the set, Columbia would only get as close as 10-11 before Stony Brook pulled away and maintained control to take the first set, 25-17.
 
Ikwuazom, who had seven kills in the first set, added another three in the second, but the lack of production from Columbia in other areas, despite Teehan adding three kills of her own during the set, was a key factor in Columbia dropping the second set, 25-13, to go down two sets to none entering the third set.
 
As the third set began, the Lions came out a squad on fire, taking the first five points before Stony Brook had to take a timeout.  It did not help the Seawolves as Columbia maintained its lead throughout the set, thanks to another five kills from Ikwuazom and a pair of kills from senior Rose Compton and first-year Pierce Woodall. 
 
Stony Brook did get as close as 14-10, but three straight points from that point, with kills from Ikuwazom, Teehan and Compton, and a timeout by Stony Brook did not stop the Columbia tear and the Lions would take the third set, forcing a fourth, 25-16.
 
In the fourth set, Ikwuazom again was a force, collecting eight total kills, while hitting .467 in the set.  The Lions, ridding the momentum they collected in the previous set, came out of the gate and went neck-and-neck with Stony Brook and even though the Seawolves would pull ahead to 16-14, the Lions would not let them run away with the match.
 
From the point of 16-16, the score would again be tied six times, the last being at 24-24, following a Cheng kill.  But the final two points would go Stony Brook's way, and it gave them a 26-24 fourth set win and a 3-1 match win in what was a valiant comeback attempt by the Lions.
 
GAME NOTES: Ikwuazom's 23 kills gives her at least 20 kills in nine 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 ... This was Cheng's seventh double-double of the season ... Teehan had her second double-digit kill (10 kills) match of the season ... This was the fourth four-set match of the season where the Lions had more kills then the opponent.
 
UP NEXT: Columbia hits the road for its first Ivy League road swing of the season, with an Oct. 4 match at Princeton and an Oct. 5 match at Penn giving the Lions a pair of road Ivy League matches for the first time in 2019.
 
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).