Volleyball wins first game of season before losing two

In its return to the court, the women’s volleyball team notched its first win of the year against University of North Carolina at Wilmington on Saturday. However, the Lions fell twice, once to Niagara University and once to UNCW, before returning home from their 2009 season debut.

In 2008, the Lions doubled their 2007 win record by tallying six victories. However, the Light Blue was defeated in every Ivy League matchup.

Considering the team’s conference trouble last year, Columbia’s nationally-ranked recruiting class brings new hope to the Lions. Recognized by Prepvolleyball.com as one of the top 50 recruiting classes in the nation, freshmen Heather Braunagel, Tiffany Firebaugh, Megan Gaughn, Erin Longinotti, and Kelsey Musselman joined the Light Blue this year. Along with Yale and Penn, Columbia is one of only three Ivy League universities to have its recruiting class recognized nationally.

“They bring a lot of experience … they all played in strong volleyball clubs,” Head Coach Jon Wilson said.

Middle blocker Braunagel earned eight varsity letters in high school—three in volleyball, four in gymnastics, and one in track and field—making her a valuable asset to this season’s roster.

Wilson has also added three new outside hitters—Firebaugh, Gaughn, and Longinotti—to the Light Blue. Last spring, Columbia star outside hitter Amalia Viti graduated after breaking the school’s all-time kill record with 1,256. This year’s group of new players has the potential to fill her shoes.

Firebaugh was 2008 Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools 3A Offensive Player of the Year, two-time first-team all-state, and three-time TAPPS 3A All-District MVP.

Gaughn was a 2008 Wendy’s High School Heisman Award winner, was named 2008 PrepVolleyball.com All-American, and holds Lake Highland Preparatory School’s record for kills in a single season. She also earned first-team all-state and all-Central Florida honors two years in a row and led her team to three state championships.

Longinotti was two-time all-county honoree in her junior and a senior years and earned first-team all-league honors in 2008. She was also team captain and MVP in 2008.

Setter Musselman has also joined the roster. As captain, Musselman led her school’s volleyball team to the 2008 TAPPS 4A State Championship. She was named first-team all-district and all-state as a senior, was a member of the TAPPS 4A State All-Tournament team and was named TAPPS II-4A District MVP.

In its first faceoffs of the season, the new Columbia team faced UNC Wilmington and Niagara at the UNCW Courtyard by Marriott/Hilton Garden Inn Classic in three games over the course of two days.

The Light Blue notched its first win on Saturday with a 3-0 victory over the Seahawks. Columbia went up early in game one, but a late game rally by UNCW put its victory in jeopardy when the score was tied at 20-20. A kill by junior Sarah Thompson sealed the win for the Light Blue, 25-23. Games two and three went smoother for the Lions who, with final kills by Cindy Chen, defeated the Seahawks 25-16 and 25-19.

However, the Lions’ winning streak ended there as Columbia went on to lose its first game and, eventually, the match against Niagara.

The Lions stayed close to the Purple Eagles in game one, tying the score four times before Niagara pulled ahead and snatched the win, 25-18. Allyson Werner and Longinotti helped put the Lions up 7-1 in game two, but the Purple Eagles threatened to win tying the game at 12 and 17, taking the lead 19-17 with two service aces. A kill by Gaughn put the Lions back in the lead 21-20, and Thompson had the final kill to take the close game at 25-22. However, the Light Blue fell 25-19 in games three and four, resulting in the first loss of the season.

Gaughn and Longinotti made impressive marks in their Columbia debuts, totaling 31 kills, 30 digs, and three blocks as well as 14 kills and nine digs, respectively, in their first two matches.

On Sunday, UNCW got its revenge on Columbia, defeating the Lions 3-1. Attack errors cost the Light Blue game one of the match. which ended 25-16.

Gaughn put the Lions up early in the game with a kill and service ace, but the score remained close throughout. After four offensive errors by the Lions, UNCW powered ahead and took the game 25-17. Gaughn once again put the Lions up 2-0 in game three. After four lead changes and seven tied scores, Columbia defeated UNCW 25-20. Game four ended the fight for the match when the Seahawks easily shut down the Lions 25-15. Gaughn led the team in the match with 16 kills, 12 digs, two service aces, and two blocks.

“We need to strengthen our blocking and serving … we have to continue to work on that and make steady progress,” Wilson said.

The Lions next take to the court on Sept. 11 to host the 2009 Columbia Invitational.