NEW YORK CITY – The Cornell volleyball team won its Ivy League opener when it downed Columbia, 3-1, this afternoon at Levien Gymnasium in New York City. The Big Red won the first two sets, 25-23, 25-18, before the Lions took the third set, 25-22. Cornell capped the match with an exciting 27-25 finish in the fourth to improve to 6-5 overall and 1-0 in the conference.
 
Carla Sganderlla was outstanding in leading the Big Red with 20 kills and 12 digs. She finished with a .298 hitting percentage (20-6-47) and added two blocks (one solo). Freshman Jillienne Bennett and Avery Hanan both finished with double-digit kills, tallying 12 and 10, respectively. Middle blocker Jenna Phelps posted eight kills and three blocks, while Jada Stackhouse was a force at the net with eight total blocks (one solo).
 
Behind the blocks, three Big Red finished with double-digit digs, as Sganderlla was joined by Zoe Chamness (11) and Lily Barber (10).
 
Chamness directed the offense with 35 assists, while Katie Randolph chipped in 13.  
 
Columbia (6-5, 0-1 Ivy) was led by Lauren Wilkins and Emily Teehan with 12 and 11 kills, respectively, while Kalie Wood finished with 19 digs.
 
The Big Red used an impressive comeback to win the first set, scoring five unanswered with two kills from Bennett and one apiece from Stackhouse and Sganderlla to turn a 19-16 deficit into a 21-19 lead. The Lions battled back to take a 23-22 advantage, but a kill from Bennett, followed by consecutive service aces from Barber gave Cornell the 25-23 win.
 
Cornell carried that momentum into the second set when Shae Bauchens recorded an ace and the Big Red was awarded a point for an illegal sub to make it 2-0. Cornell never trailed, pushing its advantage to 10-2 and eventually took its largest lead, 15-4, on a kill from Phelps. The Lions made a late push, but never really threatened as the visitors rolled to the 25-18 final.
 
The final two sets were tightly contested, with a combined 28 ties and 14 lead changes.
 
With the teams tied at 20-20 in the third set, Columbia used a big block from Chichi Ikwuazom and Teehan to spark a 3-0 run that carried the home team to the 25-22 victory.
 
The Lions looked as though they might force a fifth set with a 5-0 run that gave them a late 21-19 lead, but consecutive kills from Sganderlla and Stackhouse knotted the set at 21-21. The teams traded points all the way to 25-25 when a Columbia error, followed by a block from Phelps and Hanan sealed the 27-25 win for the Big Red.
 
After nearly a month on the road, Cornell returns to Newman Arena for a four-game home-stand beginning with Harvard on Friday, Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. and Dartmouth on Saturday, Sept. 29 at 5 p.m.