| Box Score 2 NEW YORK – The Columbia volleyball team began its 2025 campaign with a pair of tough defeats on the first day of the Big Apple Tournament at Levien Gymnasium on Friday. The Lions fell to New Haven 3-1(25-27, 16-25, 25-17, 15-25) in the opener before coming up short against Northeastern 3-1 (20-25, 25-18, 27-29, 14-25) in the nightcap. 

The Lions (0-2) got a stellar performance from first-year outside hitter Elena Maynulet, who finished the day with a pair of double-doubles. Senior outside hitter Eva Atkins also had a strong afternoon, finishing with 22 kills on the day. 

Match 1 
Columbia employed a two-prong attack in the opening match. Atkins matched her career-high with 17 kills, followed by Maynulet, who had 15. Maynulet also added 15 digs and three aces for her first career double-double. Ruby van der Heide had 40 assists and six digs along with a pair of aces. 

Kira Lynch's team-high 17 kills led New Haven (1-2). The Chargers finished the match with 11 service aces, five from Payton Malinoski.
 
New Haven took control of the match early, winning the first two sets sets 27-25 and 25-16. Attack errors plagued the Lions in the match; Columbia finished the match with 30 errors to New Haven's 17. 

The third frame belonged to Columbia. The Lions had their most productive set of the day, hitting .314, putting away 17 kills on 35 swings. Atkins was the catalyst, recording seven kills on 10 swings. Maynulet finished off the set with a kill to give the Lions a 25-17 win. 

New Haven swung the momentum back in their favor early in the fourth frame. The Chargers jumped out to a 13-2 lead following back-to-back aces. Trailing 24-10, Columbia went on a spirited run, cutting the deficit to nine following a kill by Maynulet, but an ace sealed the match, giving the Chargers a 25-15 win. 

Match 2 
Columbia's attack was once again busy, tallying 48 kills in the defeat to the Huskies. Maynulet finished with a match-high 15 kills in the loss. Amanda Holsen added eight kills on 22 swings, followed by Avery Jones and Charlotte Gravlee, who had six apiece. 

Clara Yu and van der Heide split setter duties in the second match and finished with 19 assists each. Yu added four service aces and eight digs. 
Columbia's attack got progressively better throughout the match, hitting .148 in the first set and .289 and .256 in the second and third sets. Attack errors once again proved to be the difference as Columbia hit 15 in the final two sets. 

Northeastern (3-2) hit .275 in the match, tallying 53 kills on 120 swings with just 20 errors. Two players finished in double digits in kills. Leading the Huskies was Kaylin Daniels, who was extremely efficient, finishing with 12 kills on 16 swings with one error. 

In the opening set of the match, the two sides battled back and forth, eventually settling into a tie at 20. The Huskies seized momentum and scored five straight to take the set 25-20, a service ace by Nadia Koanui sealing the deal. 

Set two saw Columbia play its best volleyball of the day. The two sides battled back and forth, with the score tied at 7-7. Columbia broke the draw on a kill by Holsen and never relinquished the lead. Down the stretch, back-to-back kills by Maynulet gave the Lions a 25-18 win in the second set to tie the match at 1-1. 

The third set saw the Huskies seize the momentum in the match. Twice, the Lions had set point but could not get the final point. A kill by Vorhies put the Lions up 27-26, but they could not close it out. Three consecutive kills by the Huskies gave Northeastern the set 29-27. 

In the final frame, the Huskies kept up the pressure. With the set tied at 6-6, the Huskies pulled away, going on a 10-1 run. Out of a timeout, Columbia attempted to climb their way back into the frame with a kill by Maynulet, but the Huskies did not let up, putting the match away on a kill by Kaylin Daniels. 

Columbia returns to action tomorrow afternoon when they host Fordham in the finale of the Big Apple Tournament. New Haven and Northeastern will play the matinee; that match is scheduled to begin at noon. 

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