Lions Snag First Win Of Season; Beat St. Francis (BK) 3-1

Friday, September 10

New York, N.Y.

7:00 p.m.

Columbia University

1-3,0-0Ivy League

St. Francis Brooklyn

3-6,0-0NEC

St. Francis Brooklyn

Columbia

Photo by: Columbia University Athletics/Maryam K. Hassan

Lions Snag First Win Of Season; Beat St. Francis (BK) 3-1

9/10/2021 10:38:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Columbia Volleyball opened up Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium with an impressive 3-1 win over St. Francis Brooklyn on Friday, Sept. 10.

NEW YORK — It really was home sweet home for Columbia Volleyball as they opened Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium in true style, beating St. Francis Brooklyn in four sets (3-1) to snag their first win of the 2021 season in what was Columbia's home opener on Friday, Sept. 10.

The Lions dropped the first set, 18-25, before controlling all of the action over the next three sets to complete the win, 18-25, 25-18, 25-15, 25-21. Columbia's win, their first, advances their record to 1-3, while St. Francis Brooklyn falls to 3-6.

As a team, Columbia hit a strong .254, while holding St. Francis to .134 hitting. But it was Columbia's service reception that was impressive, as they received at a clip of .933 and recorded 63 digs as a team.

Leading the way for Columbia's attack was Noelle Foster's 16 kills, and she was joined by Pierce Woodall (11) and Isa Lamus (10) to give Columbia three with double figure kills. Showing another strong performance as the setter, Cadence Gronski recorded the second double-double of her young career, finishing with a team-high 45 digs while adding 10 digs.

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HOW IT HAPPENED: The first set was close, but it looked like some residual effects from the weekend was showing early in Columbia's play as a few free balls found their way on the floor. And as the set went along, despite Columbia tying things up as late as 15-15, St. Francis pulled away late to take the opening set, 25-18 and an early 1-0 lead.

That first set was not a preview of things to come as over the next three sets the Lions took complete control and it started with a flipping of the script in the second set.

St. Francis came out of the gate and took an early lead, but Vanessa Pan stepped to the service line with Columbia down 3-5. When she was done serving, the Lions had pulled ahead 8-5 as she served, six straight points, which included back-to-back aces right in the middle of the stretch. While St. Francis would get as close at 10-8, they wouldn't come any closer down the stretch as strong attacking play from the pins and at the net by Lamus, Foster and Woodall helped Columbia maintain at least a five-point lead and would eventually lead to the 25-18 second set win.

With the overall score tied up at 1-1, Columbia's momentum continued into the third set, where a fast 8-3 start got Columbia rolling. Eventually hitting .414 percent in the set, their best offensive set of the match, the Lions took the lead and never gave it back as there were no lead changes or ties throughout the set.

The closest that St. Francis would get was at 14-12, but a quick timeout from head coach Allison Keeley calmed the young Lions down and five straight points on serves by Pan pushed Columbia back into a commanding position. A service ace from Logan Harlock at 23-14, followed by a set ending service error from St. Francis gave Columbia the 25-15 win and a 2-1 lead in the match.

Not looking to just go away, St. Francis took an early lead in the third set and was in front until Shari Stenglein took to the service line with Columbia down 16-12. Over the next six points, Columbia would score five, cause four St. Francis errors in the process as their strong defense held St. Francis to a match-low .088 percent and the run from Columbia would tie the score up at 16-16, the first tie of the set.

From here, Columbia saw their first win of the season and they went and got it. Thanks to a pair of kills from Woodall and numerous errors' caused by the Lion defense the score sat at 24-21 with Lauren Cho on the serve. A quick rally eventually led to Harper Justema being set by Foster for the final powerful blow that finished the set, 25-21, and gave the Lions their first win of the season with the final score at 3-1.

VENUE POLICIES: Volleyball spectator attendance will be restricted to a limited pass list only due to University COVID protocols and in accordance with NYC Executive Order 225.

If you are Columbia fan, fully vaccinated and would like to attend a volleyball game this fall, please contact Assistant Volleyball Coach Julia Anderson at (914) 960 - 3971 or by email at ja3445@columbia.edu to get on the Volleyball guest list. You must be on the guest list to be able to attend a volleyball game at Levien Gymnasium before the game you would like to attend. There is limited availability for each home contest.

NEXT UP: Columbia continues their busy weekend with a pair of matches on Saturday, Sept. 11, starting with Iona at 1 p.m., before wrapping everything up against Seton Hall in primetime with that match set to go at 7 p.m. All matches will be streamed on ESPN+.

FOLLOWING THE LIONS: Stay up to date on all things Columbia Volleyball by following the Lions on Twitter (@CULionsVB), Instagram (@culionsvb) and on Facebook (@ColumbiaAthletics).