NEW YORK CITY – The University of Pennsylvania volleyball team recovered from a heartbreaking second-set loss to win the final two sets Saturday night at Levien Gym, gaining a 3-1 win over Columbia.
Set scores were 25-16, 24-26, 25-19, 25-13.
Penn improved to 5-7 in Ivy League play and is back at .500 overall (11-11). Despite the win, however, the Quakers were eliminated from Ivy League Tournament contention as Yale clinched the final spot Saturday night with a 3-0 win at Dartmouth. Columbia—which celebrated its Senior Night prior to Saturday's match—remains winless in Ivy play at 0-12 and fell to 2-20 overall.
Quaker Notemeal
*Sophomore
Jenna Garner posted her second double-double in as many nights, third in a row, and seventh this season with 11 kills and 10 digs. Of note, Garner hit a staggering .524, her 11 kills coming on 21 attacks without an error. She also had three service aces, including the one that ended the match.
*Perhaps most impressively, Garner hit a perfect 1.000 in the final two sets Saturday, putting down seven kills on seven attacks.
*Sophomore
Adell Murray led the Quakers with 13 kills and hit .500 (13K-2E-22A).
*Sophomore
Ellie Siskin had 11 kills, her fourth straight match reaching double digits in that category, and added eight digs and three blocks (1s/2a).
*Freshman
Haley Kerstetter put down nine kills, hitting .615 (9K-1E-13A), and led all players with six block assists which is a season/career high.
*Sophomore setter
Emery Moore dished out 38 assists and added five kills (hitting .455) and five digs.
*Senior
Abigail Reid got the start at libero, led all players with 15 digs, and added three assists.
How It Happened
SET 1 (Penn 25-16): Saturday was Columbia's Senior Night, and the Lions showed some fire out of the gate after honoring their seniors prior to the match. Before Penn had settled in the score was 6-0 and head coach
Tyler Hagstrom was taking a timeout. The stoppage paid off, as the Quakers quickly got back into it and tied things at 9-9 when Murray put down consecutive kills. Sanger and Kerstetter blocked a Columbia attack to give Penn its first lead, at 11-10, and at 12-12 a Kerstetter kill started Penn on a five-point run that gave the Red and Blue separation. Columbia got within two twice, at 17-15 and 18-16, but a Lions service error opened the door and Penn walked through with the last seven points in the set. Murray put down four kills on six attacks to hit .667, while Garner put down three kills.
SET 2 (Columbia 26-24): A five-point run by the Lions broke a 7-7 tie, but Penn worked its way back to a 16-16 tie with a four-point run that was spurred by kills from the sophomore trio of Garner, then Siskin, then Murray. Columbia went back in front at 17-16, but Moore put one down and then Penn sandwiched two more points around a Lions timeout to go up 19-17. Columbia came back with the next two points to tie things at 19-19, and then the teams traded the next 10 points to 24-24 (the Lions staving off a Penn set point with an Eva Atkins kill). A Juliana Williamson kill ended a dramatic point and gave the hosts their first set point of the night, and a Presley Liberty ace sealed the deal. Siskin had four kills in the set, while Kerstetter was perfect with three kills on three attacks.
SET 3 (Penn 25-19): Columbia was up 3-1 early, but Penn scored nine of the next ten points to take control. The teams essentially traded points the rest of the way, the Quakers never leading by more than seven or by less than five. Garner was perfect in the set, hitting all four of her attacks, and added five digs while Siskin also put down four kills.
SET 4 (Penn 25-13): The teams were tied at 6-6 when the sophomores spurred a 6-2 Quakers run that gave them a lead they wouldn't relinquish—Murray, Siskin and Garner put down kills while Moore served up an ace. That took the wind out of the Lions' sails; they got within two once, at 13-11, but a Columbia service error quickly snowballed as the Red and Blue scored four in a row on the way to a match-ending 12-2 run. Penn hit .526 in the set (12K-2E-19A), led by Garner (3-0-3) and Murray (5-0-6).
Up Next
Penn is back at home for its final regular-season matches next weekend, hosting Dartmouth and Harvard. The Quakers will serve it up with the Big Green Friday at 7 p.m., and then Senior Day will take place Saturday when they face the Crimson at 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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