QUEENS, N.Y. – Columbia Volleyball's (2-1) opening weekend concluded with a solid straight set win over Canisius (2-4), 25-22, 26-24, 25-22, as another 20 kills by senior Chichi Ikwuazom powered the Lions to victory at Taffner Field House on the campus of St. John's in the final match of Jack Kasier Volleyball Classic.
 
With the 20 kills Ikwuazom racked up in today's match, the Lion senior finishes the weekend in Queens, New York, with 61 total kills, including a career-high 27 in Columbia's opening match of the weekend against Howard.  Junior Audrey Cheng was again a force setting up her teammates, recording 32 assists for a total of 84 assists over Columbia's first three matches.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED (vs. CANISIUS): Early in the first set, Columbia came out of the gate firing on all cylinders, quickly jumping to a 12-3 lead, powered by four kills from Ikwuazom and sophomore Shari Stenglein's five-point hold of serve.  But Canisius worked its way back into the match, scoring 13 points over a 15 point stretch to take the lead 16-15 midway through the set.
 
Columbia then dug deep, and in what would become a back-and-forth match, the Lions answered Canisius every step of the way and pulled away late to take the set 25-22.  Much like the vibe of the entire match, the second set started as a back-and-forth affair and continued as such through the set.
 
The Lions jumped on Canisius early and held a 12-9 lead before Canisius took a timeout on the heels of a pair of points by Columbia.  After that Giffs' timeout, the set would see the score get tied nine times over the final 29 points decided, including the score noting up at 24-24 near the end of the set.  But a kill from Cheng and a Canisius attack error gave the Lions a 27-25 second set win and put them in position to complete the three-match stretch.
 
In the final set, Ikwuazom would record eight of her 20 kills to help power Columbia through a late charging Canisius, who would stay within at least three points throughout the set.  Columbia started to pull away early on in the set, taking a 13-9 advantage midway through the action.  But from that point, the Griffs started to answer the Lions and with Columbia sitting ahead, 19-15, the Griffs started to cut into the Columbia lead.
 
With the score tied up at 19-19, the Lions dug in, looking to close the match and they would score the final six out of the final nine points to lock up the 25-22 third set win and it gave the Lions the straight set, 3-0, victory to improve to 2-1.
 
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM:
Chichi Ikwuazom – Columbia
Emily Teehan – Columbia
Efrosini Alexakou – St. John's (MVP)
Erica Di Maulo – St. John's
Rachele Rastelli – St. John's
Ariadnia Kathariou – St. John's
Jurnee Tipton – Howard
Kailyn Williams – Howard
Tamar Wells – Howard
Cassidy Ceriani – Canisius
Leah Simmons - Canisius
 
GAME NOTES: For the Lions, the 2-1 start is the best over the program's first three matches since a 3-0 start to the 2014 season.
 
UP NEXT: Columbia next heads to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for the Cherry & White Challenge starting with Lehigh on Friday, Sept. 13, before wrapping up the weekend with a pair of matches on Saturday, Sept. 14, starting with hosting Temple and finishing with Radford.  Live stats will be provided for the matches via the Temple athletic department and the action can also be followed on Twitter and Instagram.
 
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).