NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. — Columbia volleyball showed strong stretches on Friday afternoon but came up short against LIU, falling 3–1 (13-25, 25-22, 21-25, 25-27) at the Hynes Athletics Center.
Maria Happ led the Lions' attack with 14 kills on .520 hitting - a career-high, while also contributing six blocks. Seniors Eva Atkins and Amanda Holsen added nine kills and eight kills, respectively. Setter Ruby van der Heide paced the offense with 26 assists and eight digs, while teammate Clara Yu added 19.
Defensively, Columbia collected 56 digs, led by first-year libero Victoria Gao, who had 10. Madison Hsieh had a career-high nine digs. At the net, the Lions tallied nine team blocks, led by Happ's three total blocks and Avery Jones' two total blocks.
LIU (1-6) had two players record double-doubles in the afternoon. Outside hitter Sara van Gisteren tallied a match-high 17 kills on 39 swings for a .308 attack percentage. She also notched 14 digs. Setter Karly Klaer had 42 assists and 10 digs for a double-double.
LIU came out firing and controlled the opening frame from start to finish. The Sharks hit .278 while Columbia struggled to find its rhythm, committing six attack errors. Despite a pair of early kills from Happ and contributions off the bench from Atkins and Holsen, LIU pulled away to take the set, 25–13.
Columbia responded with a dominant second set, seizing momentum midway through. Happ put down four kills in the frame, while Yu and van der Heide distributed the offense effectively to multiple hitters. With the Lions leading 22–20, Atkins and Holsen each converted late swings to push the advantage. A LIU attack error on set point sealed it, 25–22, as Columbia evened the match.
The third set was tightly contested with four ties and three lead changes. Happ remained efficient offensively, and Gravlee and Jones combined for timely blocks at the net. LIU, however, closed on a 4–1 run behind the play of outside hitter van Gisteren. Columbia fell just short, 25–21, as the Sharks regained a 2–1 lead.
The Lions carried the fight into the fourth, racing out to an early lead thanks to back-to-back kills from Holsen and a service ace from Liberty. Atkins and Happ continued to score at the net, while Jones contributed a crucial block to give Columbia a late advantage. Holding set point at 24–23, the Lions were one swing away from forcing a decisive fifth set. LIU, however, used a string of late service aces and two clutch kills to rally and close the frame, 27–25, securing the match in dramatic fashion.
Columbia returns to action tomorrow afternoon when they take on FDU to close out the Iona/FDU Invitational. First serve between the Lions and Knights is slated for 4 p.m.
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