JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Columbia volleyball team lost to The Citadel in four sets (25-15, 25-17, 19-25, 25-19) on Saturday afternoon in the finale of the Jacksonville Invitational. 
 
Eva Atkins helped the Lions gain a 2-0 lead in the first set after smacking the first kill of the match, but the Bulldogs quickly stole the lead with a 5-0 run to go up 9-5. The Citadel extended that run to 11-2 and went up 15-7 before the Lions could find their footing. Two late kills from Juliana Williamson kept Columbia afloat, but the Bulldogs would go on to win 25-15. 

Kills from Hailee Watts, Atkins, and Williamson got the second set off to a great start Columbia as the game was even at 4-4. Once again, The Citadel used a big run, this time 7-0, to gain a big lead that the Bulldogs would not relinquish. The Lions fought back late again with a brief 4-1 run, but a service error gave The Citadel a 2-0 lead in the match. 

The Bulldogs quickly took a 5-4 lead in the third set as they aimed for a sweep, but Columbia would have none of it. Both teams went back-and-forth trading points until the Lions pulled out to a 16-15 lead. Three kills in a row from Watts highlighted a 4-0 Columbia run and the Citadel would not see the lead again. The Bulldogs answered with a 3-0 run, but the Lions fought it off with another 4-0 run this time sparked by Harper Justema and capped by a kill from Maria Happ. Happ crushed another kill two plays later to put the finishing touches on the set and keep Columbia alive in the match. 

The Lions fought hard to keep the match alive in the fourth set, but The Citadel's offense could not be stopped. A 6-1 run for the Bulldogs helped them go up 17-10, and that lead remained at 20-13. Another kill from Watts and a block from Justema and Williamson highlighted a mini 3-0 run for Columbia to trim the deficit to just four points, but that would be as close as the Lions would get the rest of the way. The Bulldogs closed out the set by a score of 25-19, securing a 3-1 victory in the match. 

Watts led the Lions with 13 kills in the match, while Happ smacked a career-high nine kills. Ruby van der Heide dished out a season-high 36 assists while adding three digs and an ace. Presley Liberty cracked double-digit digs for the first time this season with 14. 

Next weekend, the Lions will open up Ivy League play on the road against Cornell on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. in Ithaca.