ITHACA, N.Y. – Columbia volleyball put together one of its strongest stretches of the Ivy season, rallying for an impressive third-set win before falling 3–1 (18–25, 20–25, 26–24, 14–25) to Cornell on Saturday afternoon at Newman Arena.

Setter Ruby van der Heide orchestrated the Lions' attack with 34 assists and four digs, helping Columbia (2–16, 0–8 Ivy) hit .216 as a team. Elena Maynulet paced the offense with 11 kills on .233 hitting, while Maria Happ and Eva Atkins added eight and nine kills, respectively. Juliana Williamson came off the bench to provide a late spark, notching four kills and a block in limited action.

Cornell (12-6, 7-1 Ivy) hit .331 as a team and had three players finish in double figures in kills. Leading the Big Red attack was Eliza Konvicka, who had a match-high 17 kills on 28 swings for a .536 attack percentage. Ava Bogan and Mackenzie Parsons chipped in 10 kills apiece.

Columbia traded points early, with Atkins and Charlotte Gravlee helping the Lions pull even at 8–8 after a 5–0 surge capped by a van der Heide ace. Cornell then answered with a 9–2 run fueled by Konvicka's steady attacking, regaining control before closing the frame on a 7–3 push, despite three kills each by Atkins and Maynulet.

In the second set, the Lions once again came out fast with a 4–1 start highlighted by kills from Atkins and Gravlee, but Cornell used a mid-set 6–1 stretch to flip momentum. Happ and Farris helped Columbia close within 17–15 on back-to-back kills, yet the Big Red again capitalized late, scoring five of the final six points to take a two-set lead.

Columbia delivered its most complete effort of the day in a thrilling third-set win. The Lions' front line of Happ, Maynulet, and Williamson sparked a dominant middle stretch as Columbia built a 20–13 lead. Cornell fought back to tie the frame at 23–all, but Columbia held firm—Williamson buried back-to-back kills from van der Heide to take the set at 26–24. The Lions hit .270 with 16 kills in the frame, including four from Maynulet and two from Happ, while the defense turned back two key Cornell swings at the net.

In the fourth and final frame, Cornell regained momentum with an early 10–4 run, led by Konvicka and Bogan, and the Big Red never trailed again. Happ and Atkins added kills for Columbia late, but Cornell's .444 hitting in the frame proved too much to overcome.

Columbia returns to action next week when it wraps up a five-match road trip with contests at Harvard and Dartmouth. The Lions and Crimson square off on Friday, October 31, in Cambridge, Mass. The first serve between the two teams is slated for 7 p.m. on Saturday, when the Lions take on the Big Green in Hanover, N.H. That game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. first serve.
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