Saturday, October 3
Philadelphia, Pa.
5:00 PM
Columbia
1
at
3
Penn
Volleyball Battles But Falls to Penn in Four
10/3/2026 8:03:00 PM | Volleyball
Charlotte Gravlee finishes with career-high 13 kills in losing effort
PHILADELPHIA – The Columbia women's volleyball team got tremendous play up the middle, including a career night from middle blocker Charlotte Gravlee. But it wasn't enough as Penn defeated the Lions, 3-1, (23-25, 25-22, 25-19, 26-24) Saturday evening at The Palestra.
Columbia (6-6, 0-2 Ivy) took the opening set and led in all four sets, but couldn't close it out. Charlotte Gravlee and Danica Nordlicht set the tone for the Lions. The duo combined for 13 and 9 kills, respectively, and both hit over .300. Gravlee's 13 kills is a new career-high.
Elena Maynulet added 10 kills, four assists, and five digs. Claire Mo had a double-double with 19 assists and 14 digs. Delaney Seaman had a match-high 22 digs, her seventh career match with 20+ digs.
The match featured 23 ties and 13 lead changes. Penn (9-2, 1-2 Ivy) hit .172 as a team, but overcame a slow start on the attack. Zada Sanger and Jenna Garner finished with 16 and 14 kills, respectively.
In the opening set, the Lions battled their way back to take the opening frame. Trailing 19-12, Columbia went on a 7-0 run to tie the set at 19. Clara Yu's aces helped set the tone. Down the stretch, kills from Maynulet and Elise Hiemstra brought the Lions within striking distance. Avery Jones and Gravlee sealed the set with back-to-back kills to win the opening frame 25-23. Columbia hit just .172 in the opening set, but it bested the Quakers' .102 attack percentage.
The second frame was bookmarked by runs from both sides. Midway through the second period, a 6-0 run by the Lions firmly swung the momentum in their favor. Trailing 16-13, the Lions' run began with an ace from Evie Naumann and was punctuated by a Penn error. Down the stretch, a 5-0 run by the Quakers put them up 23-21. They closed it out on back-to-back kills from Ellie Siskin and Sanger.
Columbia jumped out to a big lead in the third, going up 10-4 following an attack error by the Quakers. But Penn refused to make it easy for the Lions and went on a 7-0 run to retake the lead and force a Columbia timeout. Out of the timeout, the Lions kept it close, eventually cutting the deficit to two, 18-16, following a Quaker attack error. Penn held on to take the set after a Skyler Greene kill.
In the final set, Columbia fell behind early, but a 7-0 run made it 17-13 in favor of the Lions midway through the frame. Columbia kept up the pressure and were the first to 20 points when Nordlitch smashed a kill. Gravlee's final kill of the night made it 23-22, but the Lions didn't have enough gas in the thank as Penn rallied back to take the set and the match, 26-24, following back-to-back kills.
The Lions return to action next Friday when they host Harvard. Friday's match will be televised on SNY and is scheduled for a 7 p.m. first serve.
FOLLOWING THE LIONS
For the latest on Columbia volleyball, follow @CULionsVB on Twitter and Instagram, and on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
Columbia (6-6, 0-2 Ivy) took the opening set and led in all four sets, but couldn't close it out. Charlotte Gravlee and Danica Nordlicht set the tone for the Lions. The duo combined for 13 and 9 kills, respectively, and both hit over .300. Gravlee's 13 kills is a new career-high.
Elena Maynulet added 10 kills, four assists, and five digs. Claire Mo had a double-double with 19 assists and 14 digs. Delaney Seaman had a match-high 22 digs, her seventh career match with 20+ digs.
The match featured 23 ties and 13 lead changes. Penn (9-2, 1-2 Ivy) hit .172 as a team, but overcame a slow start on the attack. Zada Sanger and Jenna Garner finished with 16 and 14 kills, respectively.
In the opening set, the Lions battled their way back to take the opening frame. Trailing 19-12, Columbia went on a 7-0 run to tie the set at 19. Clara Yu's aces helped set the tone. Down the stretch, kills from Maynulet and Elise Hiemstra brought the Lions within striking distance. Avery Jones and Gravlee sealed the set with back-to-back kills to win the opening frame 25-23. Columbia hit just .172 in the opening set, but it bested the Quakers' .102 attack percentage.
The second frame was bookmarked by runs from both sides. Midway through the second period, a 6-0 run by the Lions firmly swung the momentum in their favor. Trailing 16-13, the Lions' run began with an ace from Evie Naumann and was punctuated by a Penn error. Down the stretch, a 5-0 run by the Quakers put them up 23-21. They closed it out on back-to-back kills from Ellie Siskin and Sanger.
Columbia jumped out to a big lead in the third, going up 10-4 following an attack error by the Quakers. But Penn refused to make it easy for the Lions and went on a 7-0 run to retake the lead and force a Columbia timeout. Out of the timeout, the Lions kept it close, eventually cutting the deficit to two, 18-16, following a Quaker attack error. Penn held on to take the set after a Skyler Greene kill.
In the final set, Columbia fell behind early, but a 7-0 run made it 17-13 in favor of the Lions midway through the frame. Columbia kept up the pressure and were the first to 20 points when Nordlitch smashed a kill. Gravlee's final kill of the night made it 23-22, but the Lions didn't have enough gas in the thank as Penn rallied back to take the set and the match, 26-24, following back-to-back kills.
The Lions return to action next Friday when they host Harvard. Friday's match will be televised on SNY and is scheduled for a 7 p.m. first serve.
FOLLOWING THE LIONS
For the latest on Columbia volleyball, follow @CULionsVB on Twitter and Instagram, and on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
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