ITHACA, N.Y. – The Big Red volleyball team looked impressive in its first Ivy League set, downing Columbia, 25-21, but let an 11-3 lead in the second set slip away as the Lions came back to escape Ithaca with a 3-1 victory this afternoon in Newman Arena.  Columbia won the final three sets, 26-24, 25-20, 25-23.
 
Cornell (4-7, 0-1 Ivy) had a balanced attack with four hitters in double figures, as Alex Basler, Emily Wemhoff, Macey Wilson and Carla Sganderlla had 10 kills each, while Alyssa Phelps finished with nine. Basler was especially impressive, hitting a match-high .455 percent with 10 kills and no errors on 22 attempts to go along with five block assists and three service aces. Wilson was also a formidable presence at the net with seven block assists and one solo block
 
Along with her nine kills, Phelps added 27 assists, seven digs, and three block assists, while freshman setter Lauren Donnelly chipped in 15 assists and 12 digs.  Sophomore libero Chelsea Sincox had a team-high 23 digs, while freshman defensive specialist Shae Bauchens finished with 17.
 
"We definitely did some nice things," said Trudy Vande Berg, the Wendy Schaenen '79 Head Coach Of Volleyball. "We had great balance offensively, and we worked hard in practice all week on little things, like covering the blocks, which we did well today. We just had some lapses and then when we made those mistakes, we weren't as aggressive in our serving and passing, and it just went from there." 
 
Columbia (3-7, 1-0 Ivy) was led by Zoe Jacobs 19 kills, while Luciana Del Valle (13) and Katarina Jovicic (10) reached double figures as well. Del Valle also had a match-high 26 digs. Setter Jennifer Petrovich handed out 49 assists and posted 13 digs, while libero Cassie Wes finished with 22 digs.
 
The Big Red will be on the road for its next four contests travelling to Brown (Oct. 2), Yale (Oct. 3), Penn (Oct. 9) and Princeton (Oct. 10).