Box Score NEW YORK, N.Y. - The University of Pennsylvania women's volleyball team (8-7, 3-3 Ivy) needed a little luck on Friday the 13th to defeat Columbia. Freshman Raven Sulaimon's 13 kills proved to be just the good luck charm the Quakers needed as it was just enough to earn the 3-2 (26-24, 20-25, 25-15, 20-25, 15-13) victory.

With the win, the Quakers find themselves at .500 in Ivy League play as they have now won two straight. They head to Cornell on Saturday to face off against the Big Red at 5 p.m. 

*Inside The Numbers

* The Quakers won despite having tied Columbia in points scored. Both teams finished with 78.

* In the three sets they won, Penn out-hit the Lions .280 to .148 and lead .227 to .210 for the match. 

* Penn played their sixth five set match this season on Friday against Columbia. They are 3-3 in matches that have gone the distance and have won three of their last four. 

* The Red and Blue are now 3-3 in the Ivy League. It's their best Ivy League start since 2013. 

* Three Quakers finished with career highs on the night. Sydney Morton had career highs in assists (55) and digs (18), Raven Sulaimon finished with a 13 kills, and Parker Jones tied her career high of 16 digs.

* Morton and Jones both had double-doubles. The senior, Morton, had 55 assists to go with 18 digs while the freshman, Jones, had 18 kills and 16 digs. 

* Covington's 14 kills were a season high for the senior and her most since September 15th against Robert Morris. She also hit above .400 for the eighth time this season. Her team improved to 6-2 in those matches.

* Hayley Molnar hit double-digit kills for the third time in four matches as she finished the night with 10.

* The Red and Blue had five players finish with double-digit digs. Along with Morton and Jones, Michelle Pereira, Caroline Furrer, and Emily Friedler were all solid defensively. For Furrer it is the fourth straight match in which she's had double digits in digs. 

*How it Happened

Splitting the past two weekends after losing the opening game, the Quakers looked to get this weekend started off to a win. Going up against a Columbia squad that was 0-5 in Ivy play coming into the match, doing that seemed very possible, however, like every conference match, it would not come easy. 

Playing in their first Ivy League home match, the Lions did not perform like a team that had gone 0-5. The Quakers actually found themselves down 15-8 out of the gate and in need of a large rally if they were to win a very important opening set on the road. Two kills from Molnar, who finished with 10 on the night, helped spark a 6-0 run to put Penn down just one, 15-14. A kill by Jones tied things up at 16, but at 23-24, the Quakers still found themselves down set point. Kills by Jones, Molnar, and Sulaimon gave the Red and Blue three straight stunning the Lions and completing the comeback taking the opening frame 26-24. 

The second set went much the opposite way as the Quakers were the one's that found themselves up a quick 7-2, however, eight straight points by the Lions and Penn trailed 12-8 and would not see the lead again. The Quakers lost five of the final seven points to lose the second set 25-20 as Columbia evened things up at a set apiece.

Penn got back to what they were doing well at the end of the first set and beginning of the second set as they doubled up on the Lions 18-9 following a 7-1 run featuring two kills by Sulaimon. A block from Brooke Behrbaum gave the Red and Blue total control as they took the third set 25-15 to take a two set to one lead, a lead the Quakers hadn't given up this season. 

While Penn had all the momentum, it was Columbia who got off to the early start in set four going up 13-5. While the Quakers fought back to within three points at 18-15, the comeback would fall short as the Lions took the set 25-20 and force a fifth and deciding set. 

Heading into a fifth set, the Quakers were 2-3 in matches that had gone the distance this season, however, they had won two of their last three. In a set that only goes to 15, it's crucial to get that early lead and the Red and Blue did just that taking advantage of five Lion errors to go up 9-3. Columbia would not go away easy though as they took nine of the next eleven points to go up 12-11.

The Quakers went from being in complete control to needing a little luck on the night of Friday the 13th. Freshman Raven Sulaimon proved to be that good luck charm that the team needed. A block from the freshman put the Quakers up 13-12 and two points later off of Sydney Morton's 55th assist on the night, a career high, Sulaimon hit a kill cross-court to complete the late comeback and secure the 15-13 and 3-2 win.

What's Next

The Quakers head to upstate New York to Ithaca to play Cornell. The Big Red upset the undefeated Princeton Tigers on Friday in four sets, 3-1. However, Cornell lost to Dartmouth two weeks ago, a team the Quakers beat just last week. A win from either side will secure sole position of fourth place in the Ivy.