PRINCETON, N.J. -- For the first time since Sept. 18, 2012, Columbia swept the Ivy League’s weekly honors. Senior right-side hitter
Anja Malesevic and freshman setter
Audrey Cheng tallied career-highs in kills and assists, respectively, to claim the awards.
LEAGUE NOTES
- With four matches remaining in League play, Yale continues to pace the Ancient Eight with an 8-2 mark. The Bulldogs maintain their one-match lead on Princeton (7-3) and a two-match advantage over Cornell (6-4) and Harvard (6-4). Yale is looking to return to the pinnacle of the Ancient Eight for the first time since a string of five-straight championships from 2010-14.
- Yale avenged its Sept. 30 loss to Princeton (3-1), by sweeping the Tigers (3-0) on Oct. 27. The Bulldogs, who have won 56 of their last 58 Ivy League home matches dating back to 2009, host Harvard and Dartmouth this weekend.
- For the second-straight year, the Ivy League boasts a .500-or-better non-conference winning percentage. The League is 42-33 (.560) against non-conference opposition this season, after going 41-40 (.506) a year ago.
- Columbia right-side hitter Anja Malesevic paces the Ancient Eight in kills (3.91) and points (4.46) per set. The senior has had 25-or-more kills in each of her last three matches.
- Seven Ivies are hitting .300-or-better, with Columbia sophomore middle blocker Chichi Ikwuazom (.391) continuing to flirt with the .400 mark. She also leads the League with 1.30 blocks per set. Nationally, Ikwuazom sits 33rd in hitting percentage and 39th in blocks per set.
- Harvard sophomore setter Erin McCarthy (10.41) paces the League in assists per set, while Penn freshman outside hitter Parker Jones tops the conference in kills (259) and points (296.5).
- Cornell sophomore middle blocker Jenna Phelps and senior libero Kiley McPeek give the Big Red a pair of category leaders. Phelps averages .56 service aces per set, while McPeek registers 4.93 digs per set. Each ranks among the top 50 nationally in the category with Phelps checking in at No. 3 and McPeek earning a No. 43 listing.
- As a team, Cornell tallies 17.41 digs per set, which is 23rd in NCAA Division I.
- Columbia averages 1.76 aces per set to rank fifth in the nation.
- Harvard sits 42nd nationally with a .252 hitting percentage, while Dartmouth is 47th with 2.44 blocks per set.
- Princeton (41st, 12.95) and Cornell (46th, 12.92) each rank among the top 50 in NCAA Division I in assists per set. The tandem also sits among the national elite in kills per set—Princeton (41st, 13.81) and Cornell (50th, 13.73).
- All eight of this week’s matches will be broadcast on the Ivy League Network, which is available on Apple TV and Roku. The network can be found at IvyLeague.TV and IvyLeagueNetwork.com.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Friday, November 3
Dartmouth at Brown, 7 p.m. [
ILN]
Cornell at Penn, 7 p.m. [
ILN]
Columbia at Princeton, 7 p.m. [
ILN]
Harvard at Yale, 7 p.m. [
ESPN3] [
ILN]
Saturday, November 4
Harvard at Brown, 5 p.m. [
ILN]
Columbia at Penn, 5 p.m. [
ILN]
Cornell at Princeton, 5 p.m. [
ILN]
Dartmouth at Yale, 5 p.m. [
ILN]
KEY
ILN – Broadcast on the Ivy League Network, now available on Apple TV and Roku
ESPN3 – Broadcast on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN App
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Columbia senior right-side hitter
Anja Malesevic has averaged 6.08 kills per set over the past three League matches—en route to back-to-back Player of the Week nods.
The Belgrade, Serbia, product registered back-to-back career-best 27-kill efforts to lift the Lions over Harvard (3-2) and Dartmouth (3-1). Malesevic’s 27 kills are the most by a Columbia student-athlete since Erin Longinotti had 27 in five sets against Dartmouth on Oct. 9, 2009. The right-side hitter added 13 digs against Dartmouth for her third double-double this season and the sixth of her career.
Malesevic earns her second-straight and third career Player of the Week nod. She is currently pacing the League with 3.91 kills per set and 4.46 points per set. In League matches, Malesevic’s numbers jump to an Ancient Eight-high 4.24 kills per set and 4.86 points per set.
Malesevic’s Statistics for the Week
2 MP, 9 Sets, 54 K, .289 Hitting %, 21 Digs, 7 TB, 57.5 Pts.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
After assuming the primary setting role on Sept. 30, Columbia freshman setter
Audrey Cheng is averaging 9.91 assists per set—including 10.65 assists per set over the past five matches.
The Superior, Colo., native amassed 111 assists in Columbia’s two victories over Harvard (3-2) and Dartmouth (3-1). Cheng set a new career high-water mark with 56 assists in the five-set thriller against the Crimson, then recorded 55 in just four sets against the Big Green. The freshman’s totals helped her climb to fourth in the Ivy League with 8.36 assists per set on the year.
Cheng claims her second Rookie of the Week honor (Oct. 16), giving Columbia three selections this season (
Jamie Dailey, Sept. 11).
Cheng’s Statistics for the Week
2 MP, 9 Sets, 111 A, 3 SA, 11 Digs, 5 TB, 6.5 Pts.
HONOR ROLL
Melissa Cairo, Brown (Sr., L – Hillsborough, Calif.)
2 MP, 6 Sets, 5 A, 3 SA, 24 Digs, 3.0 Pts.
Luciana Del Valle, Columbia (Jr., OH – Lima, Peru)
2 MP, 9 Sets, 23 K, .254 Hitting %, 1 A, 1 SA, 27 Digs, 24 Pts.
Chichi Ikwuazom, Columbia (So., MB – New York, N.Y.)
2 MP, 9 Sets, 20 K, .381 Hitting %, 1 Dig, 15 TB, 29.5 Pts.
Zoe Chamness, Cornell (Fr., S – Eugene, Ore.)
2 MP, 8 Sets, 48 A, 18 Digs, 1 TB, 1.5 Pts.
Kit McCarty, Cornell (Sr., RS – Hudson, Ohio)
2 MP, 8 Sets, 26 K, .440 Hitting %, 1 A, 4 Digs, 1 TB, 26.5 Pts.
Christina Cornelius, Harvard (Jr., MB – Los Angeles, Calif.)
2 MP, 10 Sets, 28 K, .323 Hitting %, 25 Digs, 7 TB, 32.0 Pts.
Hayley Molnar, Penn (Sr., OH – Arlington, Va.)
2 MP, 8 Sets, 24 K, .302 Hitting %, 7 Digs, 3 TB, 25.5 Pts.
Alexa Underwood, Princeton (Fr., OH – Manhattan Beach, Calif.)
2 MP, 4 Sets, 19 K, .459 Hitting %, 1 A, 1 SA, 8 Digs, 1 TB, 20.5 Pts.
Maggie O’Connell, Princeton (So., RS – Katy, Texas)
2 MP, 6 Sets, 21 K, .386 Hitting %, 3 Digs, 4 TB, 23.0 Pts.
Tristin Kott, Yale (So., OH – Winter Park, Fla.)
2 MP, 8 Sets, 22 K, .230 Hitting %, 10 Digs, 7 TB, 25.5 Pts.