NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. — Columbia volleyball put together one of its sharper offensive showings of the season, hitting .306 as a team, but FDU capitalized on key scoring runs to sweep the Lions 3–0 (16-25, 24-26, 23-25) on Saturday afternoon at the Hynes Athletics Center.

Columbia (2–7) finished with 46 kills to FDU's 40 and won the efficiency battle in two of the three sets, led by Maria Happ's .533 hitting percentage with 10 kills. Eva Atkins added eight kills on a .400 clip, while Elena Maynulet chipped in eight kills at .438. Setters Ruby van der Heide and Clara Yu combined for 42 assists, with van der Heide posting a match-high 26.

Despite the balanced attack, Columbia struggled to halt extended FDU scoring runs. The Knights (5–7) closed the opening set on a 15–7 burst and used a late serving run to erase a Columbia set point in the second. FDU did not have a player in double figures in kills, but went with a balanced approach on the attack. Five players recorded six or more kills, with all six attacking players hitting .200 or better. Giorgia Vaschetti led the  Knights with eight kills. She also collected a match-high 13 digs.

In the opening set, Columbia hit .333 with 13 kills, but FDU was nearly flawless offensively, hitting .533 without an error. After Columbia trailed 10–7, the Knights strung together a decisive 13–4 run to take the frame 25–16.

The second set saw the Lions push FDU to extra points in a back-and-forth frame that featured 10 ties and six lead changes. Happ and Atkins combined for seven kills in the set, and Columbia held set point at 24–23 before FDU scored the last three behind two service aces to win 26–24.

Columbia delivered its best offensive set in the third, hitting .368 with 18 kills, and led as late as 22–21. FDU, however, answered with a 4–1 closing stretch to seal the sweep, 25–23.

The Lions return to action on Tuesday when they travel to Piscataway, N.J., to take on Big Ten foe Rutgers. First serve between the Lions and Scarlett Knights is slated for 6 p.m. 

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