The Columbia volleyball team (11-14, 2-10 Ivy) looks to improve its record as it concludes with its final two games of the season at Yale (18-4, 8-3) and Brown (5-17, 1-10). Columbia begins its weekend doubleheader against Yale, which currently stands second behind Penn. The next day, the Lions travel to Providence to play last-place Brown to close their season.
Yale, last year’s Ivy League champion, defeated Harvard last week in a 3-2 win, but allowed Penn to clinch this year’s Ancient Eight title by losing a 3-1 match to Dartmouth. In the Harvard game, Yale relied on strong efforts from Alexis Crusey, Cat Dailey, and Bridget Hearst, the three of whom combined for 58 of Yale’s 71 kills. Both teams exhibited strong defense near the net. Yale combined for eight team blocks and Harvard notched 15. The sets swung back and forth throughout the match, with Yale winning the match in the final set on three straight Dailey kills. The set scores were 20-25, 25-21, 25-17, 16-25, and 19-17.
The next day, Yale lost at Dartmouth 3-1. The Bulldogs had 102 digs, but its star hitters Crusey and Hearst struggled, with 17 total errors and a combined attack percentage of .121. These errors allowed the Big Green to prevail with sets of 20-25, 25-13, 25-23, and 25-20.
In Rhode Island, Brown started its weekend by losing a five-set match to Dartmouth. Brown player Brianna Williamson recorded a double-double with 15 kills and 19 kills to lead the way for the Bears, but it wasn’t enough, as the Big Green won its sets 23-25, 25-10, 25-22, 19-25, and 15-8.
Against Harvard the next day, Brown struggled, getting run over in three sets 22-25, 14-25, and 17-25. In the Bears’ second set, they actually posted a negative attack percentage, with six kills versus nine errors. The Bears had no player get more than eight kills that game.
In the games Columbia played against these teams, Columbia lost a 3-1 match to Yale and defeated Brown 3-1. In the Yale game, Yale’s Bridget Hearst tore Columbia’s defense apart with a personal best 27 kills on a .657 attack percentage. For the Lions, Megan Gaughn recorded 14 kills and 14 digs in a losing effort.
Against Brown, Sarah Thompson, Monique Roberts, and Gaughn all were in double digits for kills. The Brown attack in return struggled, committing 29 errors en route to a 0.086 attack percentage.
The Lions play at Yale on Friday, Nov. 13 at 4 p.m. and end the season at Brown on Saturday, Nov. 14 at 4 p.m.
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