Big Green Volleyball Drops Close Match to Columbia

Friday, October 10

New York, N.Y.

7:00 PM

Dartmouth College

11-4, 2-2Ivy

Columbia

7-6, 3-1Ivy

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Dartmouth	25	26	18	21	1
Columbia	18	28	25	25	3

Volleyball Rebounds to Defeat Princeton, 3-1, in Ivy Play

Big Green Volleyball Drops Close Match to Columbia

10/10/2014 10:03:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Dartmouth

NEW YORK, N.Y. – After securing an easy 25-18 victory in the first set, the Dartmouth volleyball team fell to Columbia in the remaining three sets (26-28, 18-25, 21-25) in an extremely close Ivy League matchup on the road on Friday night. The Big Green dipped to 11-4 overall and 2-2 in conference action, while the Lions improved to 7-6 and 3-1 in Ivy League play.

“We're obviously disappointed to not be able to pull out the “W” tonight, especially after coming out really strong and aggressive in the first set,” head coach Erin Lindsey said. “We were serving really tough and our passing was strong throughout the night, but we definitely got less aggressive as the match went on. Columbia made some good adjustments and we just weren't able to adjust accordingly.”

The Green and White took control of the ball early on in the first set and, even though the score was tied four times at the beginning, they were able to comfortable stay ahead to secure the victory. A kill by sophomore Molly Kornfeind started Dartmouth on a six-point run that was only cut shot following a point on the other side of the net. The Big Green were held at match point while the Lions got two points closer with an error and a kill, but a kill by junior Paige Caridi wrapped the set up neatly.

With a total of 16 ties, the second set was a lot closer than the first. A kill by Caridi tied the score at 25 and one kill on either side of the net tied the score at 26. Following two errors by Dartmouth, Columbia was able to even the score with a 28-26 victory of its own.

The Lions carried that momentum into the third set, taking the lead right from the start. The Green threatened to close the gap when they got within three points off a kill by Caridi, but three straight points by the opponent increased Columbia's lead (21-15). Three errors and an ace in favor of the opponent ended the set swiftly, giving the Lions a 2-1 edge heading into the fourth set.

After starting off behind, Dartmouth was able to take a three-point run early on in the set to tie the score at 13. From there, the score remained very close, until six Columbia points were scored, being separated only by a kill by sophomore Emily Astarita (23-18). Kills by Caridi and fellow junior Kara Lujan and an error by the Lions got the Big Green within three (24-21), but a kill on the other side ended the match.

Caridi led the way with her 18 kills, while sophomore Stacey Benton had 39 assists and four digs. Classmate Julia Lau led with her 20 digs and Astarita had four of the team's seven aces.

“The team fought hard, but we are going to need to be able to bring more for these tough Ivy matches on the road,” Lindsey continued. “It's a good learning experience for the team and I am excited to improve tomorrow night.”

Tomorrow, the Big Green will head over to Ithaca, New York, for a 5 p.m. match against Cornell.