Volleyball Drops Games To Brown And Yale, Extending Losing Streak To Four

Upper West Side NY

03 November, 2021

12:46 PM

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Columbia Daily Spectator BY JORGE HERNANDEZ NOVEMBER 2, 2021 Hoping to put an end to their two-game losing streak, the Lions hosted Brown and Yale this weekend. Instead of flipping the trajectory of its season, the Light Blue dropped every set it played this weekend, extending its winless skid to four. Since losing their setter, first-year Cadence Gronski, the Lions (5-15, 2-8 Ivy) have had difficulty on the court. Head coach Allison Keeley mentioned that Gronski would most likely not return for the rest of the season, meaning that the current setter, senior Shari Stenglein, would maintain the position. When Stenglein became the team's setter for the season, it was a first for her in a Columbia uniform. "I didn't expect to set [although] … I did it all in my club in high school and middle school career, so I knew that I could step in and get it done," Stenglein said. In the first set, the Lions and Bears were tied a total of 11 times, demonstrating both teams' determination for victory. At the beginning of the match, the teams essentially matched each other point-for-point. However, with the help of junior libero Vanessa Pan at the service line, Columbia slowly pulled away from Brown. At the peak of its lead, the Light Blue led the match 16-10, bolstered by junior outside hitter Noelle Foster at the service line. However, the trajectory of the game quickly changed after Brown's libero Kaitlyn Wong took the service line. She served for six consecutive points, briefly tying up the game before Columbia senior outside hitter Emily Teehan ended Wong's time serving with a kill, bringing the score to 17-16. As the game continued, the Bears and Lions went back and forth, hoping to win the tightly contested set. Eventually, the score equalized to 26-26 with Columbia at the service. However, a Light Blue service error handed the ball to Brown at 27-26, and a striking kill from Brown ended the first set 28-26. Having lost the closely-contested set, Columbia entered the second set disappointed, which may provide an explanation for its 25-12 loss. The Lions were defeated by a nine-point serve by Brown's Victoria Vo, as well as numerous errors on the Light Blue's side. Stenglein believes that instead of letting disappointment blanket the team members, they should instead remain unwavered and focus on their play. "I think that we just need to have a more competitive attitude. Sometimes, ... we let people get a couple points," she said. "I think that's when we really need to double down and focus." The third and final set of the match closely followed the path of the first. At the start, both teams were evenly matched. In fact, the third set saw a total of nine tied scores. Once again, though, when Brown's Vo took the service line, she helped bring the Bears ahead of the Lions. Columbia attempted to slow Brown's momentum with a timeout at 18-16. However, with the impetus from Vo, Brown was able to finish out the set 25-19, winning the match. The following day, Columbia hosted Yale (14-3-0, 7-3-0 Ivy). From the beginning of the match, the Bulldogs' control was apparent; Yale cemented its lead when Cara Shultz took the service line at 15-13. Yale served for a consecutive eight points. Columbia attempted to shake Shultz's momentum twice with timeouts—once after her second serve, the second after her eighth serve. The Light Blue finally received the ball to serve after an attack error on Yale's behalf, with the score at 22-14. With its significant lead, Yale was easily able to secure the win with a score of 25-17. The result of the second set of the match was the same as the first. After an initial Yale lead, Columbia was able to come back to tie up the match and even claim a slight lead with Stenglein at the service line. Both teams continued to battle for control of the set, keeping the score close, until Yale's outside hitter Ellis Desjardin took the service line at 13-13. Like in the first set, Yale capitalized off of having a strong server on the service line—Desjardin served for six points, bringing the score 14-18. Light Blue was unable to recover from this, and the Elis took the match, again, at 25-17. The final set was the closest that the Lions got to beating Yale. After matching each other point-for-point in the beginning, the Bulldogs' Shultz took the service line yet again. Just as in the first set, Shultz would help Yale take the lead by serving for six straight points, with two points coming from service aces, bringing the score to 6-10. Yale took this lead and never looked back. Eventually, the score found itself at 24-20 with the Bulldogs up to serve. Hoping to extend the set and reduce the Elis' lead, Teehan approached the net to spike the ball but was blocked, and Yale was awarded the point. Thus the set ended at 25-20. One of the major factors that led to Columbia's losses this weekend was the amount of errors. Coach Keeley attributes the amount of errors due to a lack of experience on behalf of the team. "We have a pretty young team, and they're learning. We took that year and a half off from COVID-19, and then we have a lot of people starting and playing that haven't ever played really or started at this level before. So it's just a learning curve, but I think we are getting there." The Lions are hoping to end their four-game losing streak this upcoming weekend. They will host Dartmouth and Harvard on Friday and Saturday, respectively, at Schiller Court in the Levien Gymnasium. These will be their last home games of the season, and 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.