NEW YORK – The Columbia volleyball team lost in five sets (25-22, 11-25, 25-19, 19-25, 10-15) to Fordham in the final game of the Big Apple Tournament at Levien Gymnasium on Saturday.

The Lions (0-3) received another excellent game from first-year outside hitter Elena Maynulet, who posted her third straight game with at least 15 kills with a team-high 16.

Charlotte Gravlee had a career day, chipping in five kills, two aces, and a career-high eight blocks. Victoria Gao recorded a career-high in digs, racking up 23 in Saturday's outing. Avery Jones and Amanda Holsen each recorded eight kills.

In the opening set, Fordham (4-2) jumped to an 11-5 lead before an 8-0 Columbia run put the Lions in front. Both teams traded blows until 22-22, when back-to-back kills by Jones and a Fordham attack error allowed the Lions to take the set.

The second set saw Fordham quickly cruise to a 25-11 victory without much pushback.

The Lions came back to battle in set three, trading blows with the Rams up to 9-9. Fordham took the first lead larger than two at 12-9, just for Columbia to claw back right away. Kills from Jones, Holsen, and Maynulet put Columbia up 23-19, and the momentum was enough to carry them out of the set 25-19.

Fordham took an 11-6 lead in the fourth set, enduring a Lions rally which had  narrowed it to 16-15. Unfortunately, the Lions did not have enough steam to get in front, and the Rams walked away with the 25-19 win to set up a fifth set.

In the final set, Columbia found itself down 5-9 and called a timeout to recuperate. Fordham quickly approached 15-10 as its lead held steady for the rest of the set.

The Lions will be back in action Friday at 2:00 p.m. when they head to Loudonville to play Stonehill in the Siena Tournament.

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