ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Columbia volleyball team earned its first Ivy League victory of the season on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Cornell Big Red in a five-set thriller (26-24, 25-23, 18-25, 24-26, 15-9) in upstate New York.
Hailee Watts led the way for Columbia, smashing 13 kills en route to the victory. Anna Gioranidi had a career afternoon, tallying a career-high 11 kills along with a career-high 13 digs to secure her first career double-double.
Speaking on the Lions snapping their 10-game losing streak and securing their first conference win of the season, Head Coach
Patric Santiago said "I think it would be disingenuous to say that the team wasn't feeling the stress of a losing streak, but we stayed together and have not stopped believing that we can win. We try to never treat winning as a relief, and stay more focused on our process, but it is wonderful to feel proud of that process and enjoy a road win and we get back to work on Monday."
The match didn't start exactly the way Columbia had planned, with Cornell taking a 17-10 lead in the first set, but the Lions would not go down without a fight. Watts sparked what would be a 9-1 Columbia run with a monster kill from the right side, while
Eva Atkins capped the run with a kill of her own from the left side. The Big Red fought back to take a 23-22 lead, but the Lions closed the set on a mini 3-0 run, with a block from
Harper Justema and
Juliana Williamson securing the win for Columbia.
The Lions kept their foot on the gas in set two, not allowing Cornell to jump in front early by taking an early 6-5 lead. The two teams traded points back-and-forth for the majority of the set, until the Big Red found themselves in front 21-20. Columbia would secure four of the next five points highlighted by a kill from
Soah Franklin and an ace from
Lauren Cho, to take a 24-22 lead. Cornell picked up the ensuing point on a service error to pull within one point, but Gioranidi would seal the deal on the second set with a monster kill and put the Lions in the drivers seat with a 2-0 lead.
The Big Red bounced back in a big way in the third set, dominating right out of the gate and coasting to a 25-18 win. Cornell used that momentum and newfound confidence to take a quick lead in the fourth set as well. Looking to avoid a fifth set, the Lions fought to keep the score within striking distance, and eventually tied things up at 21-21. The Big Red would take three of the next five points to move in front 24-23 and give themselves a set point, but a clutch kill from Gioranidi tied up the score once again at 24-24. Even with the momentum on Columbia's side, it was Cornell that scored the next two points to win the game 26-24 and force the fifth set tiebreaker.
Delaney Seaman gave the Lions the jolt they needed in set five, serving up two consecutive aces to open up the game. Columbia held that same lead until it was 9-8, and then the floodgates opened. The Lions went on a 4-0 run, capped by back-to-back kills from Watts, to take a comfortable 13-8 lead. After another Atkins kill, Columbia clinched the match on a Cornell ball-handling error to earn its first Ivy League victory of the season.
Atkins totaled nine kills in the match, while Franklin added eight and Justema chipped in seven.
Cadence Gronski collected her first double-double since 2021 with 17 assists and 14 digs. Seaman and
Lauren Cho added 15 digs each, while Seaman also had a career-high four service aces.
The Lions will look to start a win streak next weekend, when they embark on another Ivy League road trip which will begin against Dartmouth on Friday. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m. in Hanover.
For the latest on Columbia volleyball, follow @CULionsVB on Twitter and Instagram, and on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
