Volleyball Hits the Road for Matches With Columbia and Cornell

Friday, October 6

New York, N.Y.

7 p.m.

Brown University

Columbia

Photo by: Ashton Daniel Robertson

Volleyball Hits the Road for Matches With Columbia and Cornell

10/5/2023 10:45:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

Watch (Columbia)Live Stats (Columbia)Watch (Cornell)Live Stats (Cornell)

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Brown volleyball hits the road for two matches over the weekend, taking on Columbia on Friday (Oct. 6) and Cornell on Saturday (Oct. 7). Both matches for the Bears will be streamed on ESPN+.

Brown will be looking to get build off a sweep against Penn after dropping its first two Ivy League games of the season against Yale and Princeton.

SCOUTING BROWN

Brown went 1-1 last weekend, falling to Princeton in four sets before sweeping Penn. The Bears now turn their attention to two big road games where Brown will travel to Columbia on Friday before taking on Cornell on Saturday.
In the match against Princeton, Brown posted its third-lowest hitting percentage of the season, hitting just .203 as a team. The Bears did not have a player reach double-figures in kills with Isabella Bonatakis and Mariia Sidorova each collecting nine kills.
Brown bounced back against Penn, sweeping the Quakers in decisive fashion. The Bears hit .343 and held Penn to just .061 hitting. It was the third-highest hitting percentage on the season for Brown and the sixth time the Bears have held a team under .100 hitting this campaign.
Three Bears posted double-figure kills against Penn, led by 13 from Kate Sheire and 11 from both Kayla Griebl and Beau Vanderlaan.
Isabella Bonatakis had a career day against Princeton in the middle of the Bears. The sophomore finished the match with a career-high nine kills and hit .615, committing just one error on 13 swings.
Beau Vanderlaan continues to lead the Ivy League in hitting percentage this season, hitting .440. Vanderlaan is also seventh in the league in blocks per set (1.11) and eighth in the league in kills per set (2.83). Vanderlaan had a streak of six-straight matches with double-figure kills stopped against Penn when she only collected seven in the three-set match. Over her last eight matches, Vanderlaan has finished hitting over .300 in seven of those contests.
Jessie Golden continues to shine on the back line for Brown's defense as the sophomore is averaging a league-best 5.74 digs per set, almost 1.3 digs per set more than anyone else in the league. Golden has finished with 20 or more digs in six matches this season, including both the Yale and Princeton matches to start Ivy League play.
Cierra Jenkins is guiding one of the best offenses in the Ivy League from her setter position. Jenkins is currently second in the league with 10.17 assists per set for an offense that leads the Ivy League in hitting percentage (.260) and kills per set (14.11). Over her last nine matches. Jenkins has had at least 30 assists in eight of those matches. Five times this season, Jenkins has finished with at least 40 assists.
The Bears currently sit in the top-30 in the NCAA in multiple statistical categories. Brown is seventh in the NCAA in kills per set (14.11), 26th in assists per set (12.74) and 27th in opposing hitting percentage (0.161).
Individually, Jessie Golden is sixth in the NCAA in digs per set (5.74) and Beau Vanderlaan is eighth in hitting percentage (.440).

SCOUTING COLUMBIA

Columbia comes into the weekend with a 2-10 record and is 0-3 in Ivy League play. The Lions have lost their last six games, including losses to Cornell, Harvard and Dartmouth.
The Lions are hitting just .161 as a team and is allowing their opponents to hit .238 on the year.
Hailee Watts leads the team with 2.38 kills per set.
Brown has won seven-straight matches against Columbia, winning both of the last two matches in New York in three sets.

SCOUTING CORNELL

Cornell is 4-8 on the season and 2-1 in Ivy League play with wins over Columbia and Harvard. The Big Red will host Yale before playing Brown.
Cornell is hitting .181 on the year and averaging 12.0 kills per set. The offense runs through Eliza Konvicka, who is averaging 3.79 kills per set. Nicole Mallus is second on the team with 2.44 per set.
Brown had won four-straight matches against Cornell, ending what was a seven-match losing streak. The Bears have swept both matches in Ithaca over the last two seasons.

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