Efficient Offense Propels Volleyball to 3-1 Win over Columbia

Saturday, October 19

Providence, RI

5:00 PM

Brown University

10-7, 2-5Ivy

Columbia University

10-7, 3-4Ivy

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Columbia	25	17	22	17	1
Brown	19	25	25	25	3

Efficient Offense Propels Volleyball to 3-1 Win over Columbia

10/19/2019 8:07:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Senior Makena Ehlert and freshman Sophia Miller each tallied 19 kills, junior Eliza Grover registered 15 kills, and Brown University volleyball defeated Columbia University, 3-1 (19-25, 25-17, 25-22, 25-17), on Saturday evening at the Pizzitola Sports Center.

Completing the first half of Ivy League play, the Bears (10-7, 2-5 Ivy) rallied from a 1-0 set deficit to take the next three frames from the visiting Lions (10-7, 3-4 Ivy), including a late comeback in set three.

"Coming off of yesterday, we needed to learn how to sustain a good level and make small adjustments throughout, and we did that today," Brown head coach Ahen Kim said. "We started out similar to last night, and the difference was instead of making big changes, we just kept chipping away at it. We got a little bit better with every touch on the ball. It started to really go our way."

Miller (Dallas, Texas) posted her third double-double of the season on career highs in kills (19) and digs (19) alongside a .474 hitting percentage as she committed just one error on 38 swings. She has tallied double-figure kills in five of her last six matches.

Ehlert (Orange County, Calif.) matched her season high with 19 kills to go with eight digs. She has recorded double-figure kills in 15 of 17 matches on the year. Grover (Menlo Park, Calif.) landed her 15 kills on .481 hitting for her seventh double-figure kills match of the year.

Freshman libero Kaitlyn Wong (Los Altos, Calif.) contributed 17 digs while junior Bailie Salk (Tiburon, Calif.) and sophomore Kristin Sellers (Menlo Park, Calif.) combined for 59 assists, distributing 30 and 29 assists respectively. The 30 assists marked a career-high figure for Salk.

Freshman Audra Curtin (Tampa, Fla.) added six kills on .417 hitting with four blocks, senior Jacqueline Jacobs (Atlanta, Ga.) tacked on four kills and a team-high six blocks, and junior Camberly Moriconi (Naples, Fla.) chipped in four kills on .667 hitting with five blocks.

For the match, the Bears hit .329 with a .317 hitting percentage in set three, .472 hitting percentage in set four, and .351 hitting percentage in set five.

"We were able to produce more and more kills as time went on," Kim said. "From sets two to four, our setters and attackers did a great job. We had 17 kills in set two, 19 kills in set three, and 18 kills in set four. We had really great point production. You don't lose many matches when you're hitting that well."

Beginning its comeback in set two, Brown earned a 25-17 victory to knot the match at one set apiece. The Bears took an early 9-5 lead and maintained a 19-16 advantage later in the frame. The hosts then closed the stanza on a 6-1 run. Ehlert totaled eight kills in the period.

Brown extended its lead to 2-1 behind a tight 25-22 set three victory that included 12 ties and seven lead changes. Late in the frame, Brown pulled ahead 20-18 before Columbia used a 3-0 run to take a 21-20 edge. The Bears responded with a 5-1 run to conclude the stanza behind three kills from Miller and two kills from Grover.

In the third, Miller terminated on six kills on .857 hitting alongside seven digs while Ehlert landed five kills, and Grover notched four kills on .429 hitting.

Brown closed the match with a 25-17 triumph in set four. The Bears took early leads of 9-5 and 12-6 before extending the margin to 20-13 later in the frame. The hosts did not allow the visitors to come closer than five points the rest of the way. In the final stanza, Miller tacked on six kills on .667 hitting, and Grover notched five kills on .833 hitting.

In set one, Columbia took a 25-19 decision to open the match. The Lions pulled ahead 13-8 before Brown came within 17-16. Brown remained within 18-17 before Columbia closed the frame on a 7-2 spurt. Miller compiled three kills and five digs in the set.

For Columbia, Chichi Ikwuazom tallied a match-high 21 kills on .567 hitting alongside a match-best seven blocks. Audrey Cheng handed out a match-high 43 assists.

Next, Brown begins the second half of Ivy play when it hosts Yale on Saturday, Oct. 26 at 2:00 p.m. (ESPN+).

Video of all Brown volleyball home contests and all Ivy League matches, home and away, will be broadcast live on ESPN+.