Volleyball Extends Losing Streak To Four After Facing Penn And Princeton

Upper West Side NY

13 October, 2021

12:04 PM

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Columbia Daily Spectator BY JORGE HERNANDEZ OCTOBER 10, 2021Coming off an unsuccessful two-game road trip, the volleyball team returned home this weekend to host Penn and Princeton. Hoping to pick up some wins as they entered the heart of Ivy play, the Lions (4-10, 1-4 Ivy) instead extended their losing streak to four. Columbia took a hit before the games even commenced as first-year setter Cadence Gronski was unable to play due to an unnamed injury, according to head coach Allison Keeley. Gronski's setting and blocking are integral parts of the Lions' offense and defense. After winning the coin toss, the Light Blue took an early lead thanks to a strong performance by junior libero Vanessa Pan. However, the Quakers immediately retaliated, tying up the score 4-4. Penn controlled the rest of the set, but the Lions kept things close. With help from outside hitters junior Noelle Foster and senior Emily Teehan, Columbia made the score as close as 24-22. However, following a Penn timeout, a well-calculated kill gave the Quakers the first set. The second set followed a similar trajectory. The Quakers controlled the game from the beginning, and while the Light Blue's defense was strong, it was unable to withstand Penn's onslaught of kills. The Lions dropped the second set 25-21. Down two sets, the Lions were determined to win the third, taking control right from the first serve. Completing kill after kill, the Light Blue dominated the beginning, taking a commanding 10-3 lead. However, the team quickly lost its edge. With the help of five Columbia attack errors, Penn quickly made the score 11-9, forcing a Light Blue timeout. Columbia came out of the timeout reinvigorated, but so did the Quakers. The two teams went back and forth, eventually ending with a 22-22 tie. Two Penn errors, however, gave the Lions a narrow 24-22 edge, with a powerful kill from Teehan clinching the set 25-22. The next set opened with an early exchange of points that had the score tied 1-1. Penn then took the lead and never looked back. Though the Lions got as close as 23-19, two Columbia errors gave Penn both the set and match. The next day, the Light Blue hosted Princeton. The Lions were awarded the first serve once again, but this proved to be no advantage. Columbia's incomplete defense was no match for Princeton's offensive prowess. In the first set, the Tigers continued to expand their lead one kill after another. With the score at 24-14, Teehan jumped up to score, but an attack error gave Princeton the point and the set. In response to this 11-point loss—the largest margin by which the Lions have lost in an Ivy League matchup this season—Keeley decided to change things up because they "just were not scoring enough points." In switching her team to a 4-2 system, which allows for three hitters in the front row at all times, she hoped the Lions could generate more offense. The adjustment was not smooth, and the Lions dropped the second set 25-15 in an almost identical fashion. In the third set, now more used to the new topology of the court, the Lions' offense improved greatly as they advanced point for point with the Tigers. Most notably, Foster, Teehan, and senior middle blocker Isa Lamus each racked up a considerable number of kills. As neither team was willing to give an inch, the score eventually found itself at 23-22 in favor of the Tigers, who called a timeout. Out of the huddle, Princeton hoped to bring itself one point closer to victory, but they were denied by an attack error. Now with the score at 23-23 and both teams yearning for the set win, the court was flooded with anticipation. When Columbia served, the Tigers pounced, taking a 24-23 lead. But the Lions were not ready to give up yet. Teehan approached the net and with the ball high in the air off a set from senior setter Shari Stenglein, she slammed the ball and evened the game, keeping the Lions' hopes alive. However, Princeton came up with back-to-back kills to take the set and the game. Despite the losses, a few Lions had standout performances. Foster achieved a record career high of 25 kills against Penn, and Stenglein recorded a double-double in both matches. Going forward, Keeley hopes to improve on the team's defense. "Our pins are terminating and are two of the better offensive outside hitters in the conference, [but] I think we need to play a little better defense against the other teams because they're hitting well against us," she said. The Lions will travel to Hanover and Cambridge next weekend to take on Dartmouth and Harvard, respectively. The Light Blue will play Dartmouth on Friday at 7 p.m. and Harvard on Saturday at 5 p.m. Both games will be streamed on ESPN+. Deputy Sports Editor Jorge Hernandez can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @jhernandez2001. Founded in 1877, the Columbia Daily Spectator is the independent undergraduate newspaper of Columbia University, serving thousands of readers in Morningside Heights, West Harlem, and beyond. Read more at columbiaspectator.com and donate here.