Columbia University’s volleyball team earned its first win of the season Saturday at the Clocktower Tournament in Loudonville, New York. The Lions split a doubleheader, falling to Belmont in five sets before defeating Siena 3-1.
The team, now with a 1-5 record, showed improvement by pushing Belmont to five sets in a narrow 3-2 loss (25-23, 19-25, 25-18, 21-25, 16-18). In the afternoon match against host Siena at the UHY Center, Columbia secured a four-set victory (25-22, 23-25, 25-15, 25-19).
Elena Maynulet led Columbia with two double-doubles on the day—finishing with a combined total of 28 kills and 39 digs. She has recorded five double-doubles so far this season. Avery Jones contributed with 23 kills and eight blocks across both matches. Charlotte Gravlee added to the effort with 15 kills and six service aces.
In the opening match against Belmont, four Lions reached double figures in kills. Maynulet had a team-high of 17 kills. Evie Naumann set a career high with 13 kills. Jones hit .458 with her 11 kills on just 24 attempts while Eva Atkins added another ten.
Belmont was led by Emily Warmehoven’s match-best of 19 kills. Brenna Kauffeld contributed another fifteen and Brooke Gilleland finished with twelve.
Columbia started strong behind Presley Liberty’s serve for an early six-point run that included two aces. The Lions took the first set but Belmont responded quickly and won the second set behind balanced scoring and efficient hitting.
The teams traded momentum throughout the rest of the match. A close fifth set saw ten ties and three lead changes before Belmont secured victory on Warmenhoven’s final kill.
In their second match against Siena (now at a record of 3-6), Columbia posted its most efficient offensive performance yet—hitting .329 as a team with fifty-nine kills and fourteen service aces. Gravlee registered ten kills and three aces; Jones again hit .458 for twelve kills; Maynulet tallied eleven more along with twenty-two digs; Yu recorded twenty-five assists; Delaney Seaman anchored defense with fifteen digs.
Siena’s Doga Diraz had seventeen kills while Gabrielle Wire added fourteen.
After dropping a close second set to Siena following multiple ties, Columbia rebounded by hitting .520 in the third frame—its best mark this year—and maintained control through the fourth to claim its first win of the season.
The Lions will next face Iona on Wednesday in New Rochelle as part of the Iona/FDU Invitational tournament.
For updates on Columbia volleyball follow @CULionsVB on Twitter or Instagram or visit GoColumbiaLions.com.
