NEW YORK -- The Columbia volleyball team earned its first Ivy League victory of the season on Saturday night, coming from behind to stun the Harvard Crimson in a five-set thriller.
Multiple Lions had a career night, helping keep the team afloat when trailing 1-0 in the match, 2-1 in the match, and 14-2 in the final set. Ultimately, Columbia would come all the way back to win the match 3-2 (19-25, 26-24, 21-25, 27-25, 17-15), needing extra rallies in each of its set victories.
The match didn't get off to a good start, despite Atkins coming out firing with three early kills. Harvard took a 13-11 lead, and would coast until the end of the set with the Lions only cutting the deficit to one point one time.
With the Crimson in front 1-0 in the match, things did not look good for Columbia when Harvard took a 23-22 lead in the second set after a double touch. Atkins continued her stellar hitting, smacking two kills in a row to halt the Crimson momentum and put the Lions back in front. Columbia would even up the match at 1-1 thanks to a kill from Avery Jones.
In the third set, momentum once again swung back to Harvard as Corrine Furey and Brynne Faltinsky could not be stopped. Columbia kept the set within reach, with help from multiple service aces by Delaney Seaman, but eventually, Harvard would win the set on another kill from Faltinsky.
The Lions battled back again in the fourth set with their backs against the wall, with Amanda Holsen and Jones getting things started early with back-to-back kills. The Crimson rallied back and looked to be in control of the set with a 23-21 lead, but three straight Columbia points capped by a Maria Happ kill gave the Lions the lead once again. It took extra rallies for the second time, but a Harvard attack error and a kill from Harper Justema helped force a deciding fifth set.
Harvard did not take lightly to these Lion comebacks, battling out to a quick 11-7 lead in the final set and had Columbia on the ropes. But once again, it was the heart of the Lion that prevailed as Atkins would smack back-to-back kills to fend off two Crimson match points and force extra rallies for the third time in the match. A walk-off block from Jones and Happ clinched the set, and completed the comeback for the Lions who emerged with a 3-2 win.
Atkins smacked a career-high 17 kills on the night. Jones smashed a career-high 15 kills and had a career-high eight total blocks. Justema matched her career-high with 11 kills. Happ also notched a career-high 10 kills and career-high eight total blocks. Clara Yu dished out a career-high 52 assists. Holsen tallied her first career double-double with 10 kills and career-high 12 digs, while matching her career-high of four service aces from 2022.
The Lions hit the road again next weekend and will take on Penn on Friday and Princeton on Saturday.
For the latest on Columbia volleyball, follow @CULionsVB on Twitter and Instagram, and on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
