NEW YORK – The Columbia volleyball team fell to Yale in four sets (25-27, 25-23, 15-25, 12-25) on Friday night at Levien Gymnasium in the penultimate game of their 2024 season.
 
With Yale's victory over the Lions in Friday's match, the Bulldogs have clinched a share of the Ivy League regular season title, their third straight.
 
Columbia took an early but unstable lead in the first set. Service aces from Delaney Seaman, Hailee Watts, and Ruby van der Heide gave the Lions early momentum. However, Yale mounted a successful comeback and traded the lead with Columbia several times after the 10-10 mark. Late in the set, Juliana Williamson elevated to slam a kill on the defense and fired up the Lions. After some more back-and-forth, Yale pulled away with the first set of the evening.
 
The second set looked like a sure thing for the Bulldogs, with Yale leading by as much as nine and refusing to trade leads with the Lions. However, with the score at 23-15 and the Lions in danger of digging themselves a 2-0 hole, Columbia went on a 10-0 run to steal the set. On the play which saw the Lions take the lead, both teams fought to keep the play alive for an extended period of time before a block by Williamson and Avery Jones put the Lions within one point of victory. First-year Clara Yu set up Watts for the final kill as the crowd erupted.
 
Columbia's dreams of playing the spoiler in a title-clinching game for the Bulldogs failed to play out as Yale handily took the third and fourth sets.
 
Atkins shined for Columbia tonight as she notched a team-high 15 kills. Jones tallied 11 kills. Watts followed with eight kills and three digs. Seaman picked up 22 digs and three aces.
 
On Friday, the Lions hosted a Mental Health Awareness Game. Columbia players wore green during the game in support of Hilinski's Hope Foundation (H3H). Sports are more than physical, which is why Columbia believes mental health is a critical part of being a successful student-athlete. Columbia is joining the mission to make mental health a priority. To donate, or learn more about the Hilinski's Hope Foundation, click HERE.
 
The Lions will close out their season Saturday at 6:00 p.m. in Levien against Brown. On Saturday, the Lions will be celebrating Senior Night. Columbia will honor its three seniors, Harper Justema, Anna Gioranidi, and Hailee Watts, prior to the game.

For the latest on Columbia volleyball, follow @CULionsVB on Twitter and Instagram, and on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.