NEW YORK -- The Columbia volleyball team opened the season on Friday night in front of a packed Levien crowd against Fordham in the first of three games in the Big Apple Tournament. The Rams emerged victorious in straight sets (25-22, 25-21, 25-23) to improve to 4-0 on the season, while the Lions fall to 0-1.
Eva Atkins smacked the first kill of the season for Columbia early in set one, marking the beginning of what would amount to a career night for the sophomore outside hitter. The Rams would never trail in set one, yet saw their lead reach only as high as four points. The Lions slowly chipped away and would eventually cut the deficit to just one thanks to a service ace from Hailee Watts which brought the score to 20-19. However, Fordham would score five of the next eight points to close things out.
Columbia got off to a much better start in set two, jumping out to a commanding 8-2 lead thanks to an early 6-0 run highlighted by a monster kill from Amanda Holsen who also had a career night for the Lions. Unfortunately, the Rams would not go away, clawing right back into the set thanks to an impressive run from Audrey Brown, which included back-to-back kills, and found themselves back in front at 14-13. Once again, Fordham could not really pull away, and a Ruby van der Heide service ace late in the set kept Columbia in it, but the Rams would hold on and take the set 25-22.
The script flipped in what was an electric third set, as Fordham jumped out to an early 13-5 lead. This time, it was the Lions who slowly clawed their way back into the set, chipping away at the lead until a monster kill from Anna Gioranidi inspired a huge celebration from the junior outside hitter which fired up the 817 fans in attendance. The crowd was deafening, and helped spark a 5-0 Columbia run which was capped by a huge kill from Atkins to move the Lions in front 23-22. However, Fordham would take the next three points and steal a 3-0 victory.
Atkins led the way for Columbia notching a career-high 12 kills, to go with four total blocks. Holsen chipped in a career-high 10 kills, and added two digs, a block, and an assist. Yooni Park made the start at libero and collected a career-high 10 digs. Van der Heide tallied 25 assists to go with two service aces.
Despite the loss, the Lions actually outplayed Fordham in numerous categories including points (52-46), aces (7-3), blocks (6-2), and assists (39-38). However, the Rams held the advantage in hitting percentage and digs, which ultimately proved to be the difference.
The Lions will be right back at it on Saturday, as they will play two more games in the Big Apple Tournament. Columbia will square off against Virginia at noon before taking on Quinnipiac at 7 p.m.
For the latest on Columbia volleyball, follow @CULionsVB on Twitter and Instagram, and on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
