Dartmouth Completes Weekend Sweep, Edges Columbia in Five

Saturday, September 30

New York, N.Y. / Levien Gymnasium

5:00 PM

Dartmouth College

5-7,2-1Ivy League

Columbia

2-10,0-3Ivy League

Dartmouth

Columbia

Photo by: Kyle Relf

Dartmouth Completes Weekend Sweep, Edges Columbia in Five

9/30/2023 8:27:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

The Big Green rose to the occasion, hitting better than .500 in the fifth set to run away with the deciding game

By: Kyle Relf

NEW YORK — After a dominant 3-0 win at Cornell on Friday, the Dartmouth volleyball team was challenged in a five-setter at Columbia on Saturday, eventually coming away with a 3-2 (22-25, 25-14, 18-25, 25-19, 15-6) victory.

The Big Green improved to 5-7 with a 2-1 mark in the Ivy League and the Lions dropped to 2-10, along with an 0-3 conference mark.

A .533 hitting percentage in the fifth set was the shining example of the resilience displayed by Dartmouth, who dropped the first set and later needed to win the final two in order to come away with its second conference victory in as many nights.

Amelia Gibbs led both sides with 14 kills in her usual efficient fashion, hitting .440 on 25 attempts. She was the beneficiary of many of Makenzie Arent's season-high 33 assists. Ellie Blain put together a strong 12-kill performance on 29 total attacks (.310) in addition to her 14 digs. Columbia was led by Hailee Watts' 13 kills and Ruby van der Heide's 30 assists.

After winning the fourth set, the race to 15 was on and Dartmouth answered the call by picking up the first five points. Consecutive kills by Kauany Gutz helped the Big Green get a couple points back, growing the lead to 7-2. Later, Blain delivered a kill and then an ace to give her team an insurmountable 13-5 edge. Van der Heide's service error brought match point and Gibbs ended it with a kill.

The Lions dealt the opening blow with a close win in the first set. Back-to-back kills by Gibbs cut the deficit to one, but a Columbia block followed by Juliana Williamson's kill put the finishing touches on a narrow three-point win. Dartmouth had a 12-11 lead, but fell behind after the Lions embarked on a 7-0 run.

A resurgent second set allowed the Big Green to even the score. Columbia held an early 3-1 edge and looked to continue its momentum, but Dartmouth was too strong down the stretch with a .310 hitting percentage throughout the set. Blain tied the game, 4-4, with a kill to start a quick 3-0 run that put the visitors on top for good. A four-point spurt, which included a pair of blocks from Gibbs, handed the Big Green a commanding 22-13 lead.

The back-and-forth nature of Saturday's showdown continued as the Lions ran away late with the third set. A Blain kill forced a Columbia timeout with the score at 20-17 in favor of the Lions and out of the break, the Big Green were on the wrong end of a 3-0 run. Eva Atkins came through with the set-winning kill.

Dartmouth needed to claim set four to survive, and it did just that, overcoming an early deficit to eventually lead by as many as six down the stretch. Tied 8-8, the Big Green picked up five of the next six points and consistently answered Columbia's punches until a 3-0 run, capped by Valia Evangeliou's ace, set the stage for the fifth.

The Big Green didn't play a five-setter in 2022, but have already played four this season and have won two of them.

Dartmouth looks to build its win streak at home against Penn on Friday, Oct. 6. The match will be streamed on ESPN+ with Brandon Bojarsky on the call and live stats will be available through DartmouthSports.com.