NEW YORK -- The Columbia volleyball team was defeated in three sets (25-23, 25-18, 25-10) by Princeton on Saturday evening at Levien Gymnasium. 

The Lions' started a lineup of seven seniors, Lauren Cho, Soah Franklin, Logan Harlock, Lauren Maitland, Maria Milisa, Annabel Happ, and Yooni Park to commemorate senior night. All seven seniors played the entire duration of the match, with the only senior not seeing action being Aiden Conner who is out due to injury. The seniors tallied a whopping 28 kills, 25 digs, 25 assists, and four service aces. 

The senior starting lineup seemed to give the Lions a spark in the first set, with Harlock smacking three quick kills to give Columbia a 5-1 lead. The Tigers clawed their way back into it, using a 4-0 run to eventually take a 15-13 lead. The Lions would not quit, as three kills in five rallies from Franklin but Columbia back in front, but the lead would be short-lived. Princeton used its second 4-0 run of the set to regain the lead, and snuck out the first set victory thanks to a ball-handling error. 

Columbia came out hot again in set two thanks to kills from Maitland and Harlock, but once again Princeton rallied quickly to take the lead back. The Lions would trim their deficit to as little as four points, but the Tigers held on to win the second set. Princeton would ride that momentum into the third set where the Tigers coasted to a 25-10 victory to earn the sweep. 

Franklin led the Lions with eight kills in the match. Maitland and Harlock both chipped in six kills. Happ led Columbia with 17 assists. Cho and Park each collected six digs.

The Lions will close out the 2023 season on the road next weekend with a matchup against Yale on Friday at 7:00 p.m. in New Haven and a contest against Brown on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. in Rhode Island. 

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