PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania volleyball team defeated Columbia, 3-0, in a match that was much closer than the score would indicate. The Quakers were forced to make a late comeback in the second set Friday night at The Palestra, then broke a late tie in the third to close out the sweep.
Set scores were 25-20, 25-22, 25-23.
Penn improved to 2-4 in Ivy League play and is back at .500 overall at 8-8. Columbia fell to 2-14 overall and remains winless in Ivy play at 0-6.
Quaker Notemeal
*Penn hit .305 in Friday's match, the second time the Quakers have hit better than .300 in a match in Ivy play this season.
*Penn put down 48 kills to Columbia's 27 and had 49 digs to the Lions' 33.
*Junior
Zada Sanger led Penn with 13 kills, her 12th straight match reaching double figures in that category. She also had three digs and two block assists.
*Sophomore
Jenna Garner put down 11 kills and hit .455 on the night (11K-1E-22A), adding seven digs, three assists and a team-high two service aces.
*Freshman
Haley Kerstetter had another strong night offensively, with seven kills and no errors on nine attacks (.778 hitting percentage); she is now hitting .474 in Ivy play (41K-5E-76A).
*Sophomore
Ellie Siskin put down nine kills and added five digs and two block assists.
*Sophomore
Adell Murray had five kills on 13 attacks without an error (.385), led all players with four block assists and had the Quakers' only block solo.
*Sophomore
Emery Moore went the distance at setter and finished with 37 assists as well as 11 digs and two kills on five attacks (.400).
*Freshman
Addison Pollock led all players with 13 digs and also dished out four assists.
How It Happened
SET 1 (Penn 25-20): The Quakers were rolling early, scoring seven points in a row to take a 9-1 lead. Columbia immediately responded, scoring ten of the next 13 points to get within one at 12-11. The teams traded the next eight points, to 16-15, at which point a pair of Columbia attack errors—one of them a successful challenge by Penn—and a Garner kill put the Red and Blue in front by four, forcing a Lions timeout. It proved not to be enough, as the margin never got smaller than three the rest of the way. Sanger and Siskin had five kills each, while Garner put down three kills and hit .375 and Moore came up with seven digs.
SET 2 (Penn 25-22): Another tight set that featured 13 ties and four lead changes. Columbia took its first lead of the night at 13-12, and still led 15-14 when Murray put down two kills and Moore added another for a 17-15 Penn led. Columbia responded with the next four points, going back in front 19-17, and that lead expanded to three at 22-19 on a service ace that brought about a Penn timeout. Good call: the Quakers ripped off the final six points in the set as Sanger put down two kills, Garner served up both of her aces, and—after Columbia's second timeout in the run—a bad set by the Lions closed things out. Sanger finished the set with six kills, Garner had five on seven attacks (.714), and Pollock came up with six digs.
SET 3 (Penn 25-23): Another tight set throughout, with nine ties. Neither team had a multi-point lead until Penn went up 9-7, and the Quakers finally expanded it to three points at 12-9. A three-point run pushed the Red and Blue's lead to six, at 18-12, but Columbia used a four-point run to turn a 21-17 deficit into a tie at 21-21 (Penn calling both of its timeouts during the run). The teams traded the next four points to 23-23, as two times Penn scored to go in front only for Columbia to answer. Penn once again took the lead at 24-23 on a Murray kill, and this time the Lions couldn't find the response as a bad set gave the Red and Blue the win. Kerstetter had four kills on five attacks in the set (.800), while Siskin had three on five attacks (.600) and Garner put down three kills as well. As a team, Penn hit .407 in the set.
Up Next
Penn closes out Alumni Weekend tomorrow night with Cornell, which remained unbeaten in league play at 6-0 with a 3-2 win at Princeton Friday night. First serve at The Palestra is slated for 5 p.m.
For the latest on Penn volleyball, follow @PennVolleyball on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.
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