Box Score ITHACA, N.Y. – After losing the first two sets to Columbia, the Big Red volleyball team fought back to win the next two and force a decisive fifth set, which went to extra points, but saw Cornell come up short as the home team fell, 3-2 to the Lions this afternoon at Newman Arena. Columbia earned the season-sweep by winning, 25-22, 25-19, 21-25, 23-25, 18-16.

Cornell (6-13, 2-6 Ivy) was led by Kelly Marble's 20 kill, 13-dig double-double, while Sierra Young had one of her best games of the season with 19 kills and 10 digs. Breanna Wong and Rachel D'Epagnier also chipped in 16 and 10 kills, respectively, with D'Epagnier hitting a team-high .471 and posting nine total blocks (two solo, seven assists). Wong also helped the defense with four block assists and a career-high seven digs, while libero Brittany Kalepa finished with a game-high 21 digs.

Setter Lucy Zheng handed out 46 assists, while Kelly Reinke contributed 11.

Columbia (9-8, 4-4 Ivy) was led by Megan Gaughn with 16 kills and 18 digs, while Bailey Springer and Caitlin Benton finished with 12 and 10 kills, respectively. But the Big Red did an outstanding job of shutting down Heather Braunagel, who entered the game ranked 22nd in the nation in hitting percentage (.394), but was shutout by Cornell with four kills and four errors on 16 attempts for a .000 hitting percentage on the day.

Colleen Brennan finished with 51 assists and libero Charlee Dyroff finished just behind Gaughn with 17 digs.

The teams battled back and forth though out the first two sets, combining for 19 ties and 10 lead changes, but the Big Red came up short, falling 25-22 in the first and 25-19 in the second set.

It looked like Columbia would be on its way to a three-set sweep, as the visitors jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the third set, but a kill by Wong was followed by kills from D'Epagnier and Young to make it a 10-5 contest. Cornell kept within striking distance, pulling within four points several times through the middle of the set before an Atlanta Moye-McLaren service error opened the door for a 5-1 Cornell scoring run that pulled the home team within one point at 17-16. The Big Red continued to chip away and back-to-back kills by Marble finally tied the game for the first time since the opening moments (1-1) at 20-20. A kill by Wong on the next play gave Cornell its first lead of the set and three consecutive Lion attack errors gave the Big Red game point at 24-20. The teams then traded kills with Wong handing Cornell the 25-21 victory.

The Big Red carried that momentum, and the enthusiasm of a large Newman Arena crowd, into the fourth set, this time holding a slim lead throughout the majority of the contest. Cornell never went up by more than three points, but managed to cut short every Lions' rally, as the home team earned the 25-23 victory.

Cornell started the fifth set in commanding fashion, with two kills by Young and a kill by D'Epagnier helping stake the Big Red a 4-1 lead. Columbia eventually managed to pull within one point (6-5), but an attack error by Gaughn returned the two-point advantage to the Big Red and the home team carried the lead until a service error saw the set tied at 12-12. The contest would be tied again at 13-13 and 14-14, but with Cornell leading 15-14, it appeared that an attack by Columbia's Denise Dearman went into the net, handing the home team the 16-14 victory. The celebration was cut short, however, when the officials ruled that a Cornell blocker had touched the ball and the score was knotted again at 15-15. Gaughn and Braunagel combined for a block on the next play to give the visitors their first lead of the set but a kill by Young tied the game for the final time at 16-16, as back-to-back kills by Gaughn gave the Lions the 18-16 win.

The Big Red hits the road next weekend for a pair of games at Brown and Yale on Friday, Oct. 26 and Saturday, Oct. 27, respectively. Cornell will face the Bears at 7 p.m., and the Bulldogs at 5 p.m.