Sept. 11, 2009

Box Score

NEW YORK CITY - The Marist volleyball team fell behind two sets to none to Columbia Levien Gymnasium Friday afternoon, but rallied back to force a deciding fifth set. The Lions held Marist to a -.095 in the deciding set, winning it 15-10 and the match 3-2 (31-29, 25-11, 15-25, 21-25, 15-10). Senior Alexandra Schultze (Austin, Texas) led the Red Foxes with 19 kills.

Junior outside hitter Dawn Jan (Belleville, N.J.) also had a double-double with 30 assists and 10 digs. Defensively, Emily Brosky (Whitehall, Pa.) led Marist with 19 digs while Kayla Burton (Kissimmee, Fla.) led all players with seven blocks.

After trading points to start the match, Marist took a 4-3 lead on a kill by Schultze. Columbia answered with a Megan Gaughn kill to tie the match, then won six of the next seven points to go ahead 10-5. Schultze hit another kill to get the Red Foxes within four, but a Marist error led to the Lions taking the next six points. Kills by Gaughn and Sarah Thompson powered a 6-0 run that put Columbia ahead 16-6. Trailing 19-10, Marist needed to go on a run to stay in the set. Allie Burke (Alpharetta, Ga.) hit a kill to put the Red Foxes back on serve, making the score 19-11. Marist then got three Schultze kills and a pair of service aces by Brosky to highlight a 7-0 run that got the Red Foxes within two, 19-17.

Columbia (2-2) had a set point opportunity at 24-22, but Lindsey O'Dell (Kingwood, Texas) then hit a service ace to tie the set at 24-24. The Red Foxes had their first chance to put away the set at 25-24, but Thompson hit a kill for the Lions to tie the set at 25-25. Marist had two other opportunities to close the set but was unsuccessful. With the set tied at 29-29, Columbia took the lead on a Monique Roberts kill. Erin Longinotti then closed the set with a kill to give the Lions' a 31-29 win.

The Lions started the second set on a 5-2 run, getting a Thompson kill and Nicole Goldhaber ace in the process. After a Lindsey Schmid (Austin, Texas) kill made the score 5-3, Columbia went on a 12-0 run to go ahead 17-3. A Katie Estes (Saugus, Calif.) kill ended the Lions' run. Marist just could not find it's offensive stride in the second set, hitting -.132 in the set. Columbia took the set 25-11 and took a 2-0 lead in the match.

Marist (5-4) took control of the third set early, going ahead 7-2. With the set tied 2-2, a Foss kill sparked a 5-0 run that included two kills by Schultze as well as a block by Schultze and Burton. Columbia closed to within two at 10-8, but a Schmid kill put the Red Foxes back up three, 11-8. Marist then ran off six straight points, three of which were Schmid aces, to go ahead 17-8. The Red Foxes hit .263 in the third set and won it 25-15, getting a Foss kill and Schmid ace to put away the set.

The two teams played to a quick 3-3 tie in the fourth set. Marist took the lead for good at 4-3, turning a Columbia service error into a 9-0 run. The Red Foxes got two Burton kills and two blocks by Burton and Schultze to go ahead 12-3. Columbia closed within four at 14-10 on a Marist error. Marist got the lead up to six, 19-13, on a Burton kill. The Red Foxes led 22-17 when the Lions got kills by Longinotti and Roberts to make the score 22-19. Marist earned a set point opportunity at 23-19 when a Columbia error made the score 24-19. The Lions fought off two set points, but Schultze put down a kill to make the score 25-21, giving Marist the fourth set win and forcing a deciding fifth set.

Marist and Columbia had four ties in the first ten points of the fifth set. The Lions took the first two-point lead of the set at 7-5, getting a Longinotti kill and Gaughn block. A Schultze kill put Marist within one at 7-6. Columbia got a quick sideout as Roberts and Gaughn combined for a block to make the score 8-6. The Lions added two more points to go ahead 10-6. Marist got as close as two at 12-10, when Estes and Burton got together for a block. The Lions then won the last three points, getting kills by Gaughn, Longinotti, and Megan Dillinger to win the set 15-10 and the match 3-2.

The Red Foxes hit .092 for the match while Columbia hit .210. Columbia also held an 80-74 advantage in digs and an 11-7 edge in blocks. Gaughn led the Lions with 27 kills while Longinotti had 15 kills and hit .317. Roberts had 10 kills and had a team-high six blocks.

Marist will play two more matches at the Columbia Invitational Saturday. The Red Foxes will take on Stony Brook at 10 a.m., followed by a 2 p.m. match against Quinnipiac.