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genske

Junior Alexis Genske led the Quakers against Columbia with 17 kills, highlighting a balanced Red and Blue offensive attack.

Start spreading the news: Penn volleyball made sure to bring its A-game to the Big Apple.

Led by junior captain Alexis Genske, the Quakers (7-14, 4-6 Ivy) cruised to a 3-1 victory at Columbia on Saturday.

Genske provided a team-high 17 kills, headlining a balanced Penn attack that featured a .291 hitting percentage the Red and Blue’s best mark thus far this season.

The Quakers started off quickly, using a six-point run to win the first set, 25-21. The Lions (7-12, 3-7) bounced back, though, responding with a decisive 25-19 victory in the second set to even the score at one.

However, Penn was quick to dispel any hope of a Columbia comeback. Propelled by several timely kills from Alex Caldwell, the Red and Blue cruised to 25-18 and 25-22 victories in the final two sets.

Senior Kendall Turner chipped in with 12 kills, while Caldwell added 10 of her own. The junior also tallied 26 assists and 14 digs, giving her her fourth triple-double of the season.

The Quaker win avenged a sloppy 3-0 loss to Columbia at the Palestra on Oct. 3. Penn now sits at 4-6 in Ivy League play, good for a three-way tie for fourth place with Brown and Dartmouth.

The loss was Columbia’s sixth in a row, dropping the Lions to 3-7 in the Ancient Eight. The team was 3-1 following a victory over Dartmouth on Oct. 10, but has fallen all the way to seventh place.

Sophomore Zoe Jacobs provided a silver lining for Columbia in the loss, registering 16 kills and a .292 hitting percentage. The Lions will face a tough test when they host first-place Yale (12-7, 8-2 Ivy) on Friday.

The Quakers will look to continue their positive momentum when they host Dartmouth and Harvard on Friday and Saturday. With only four games remaining, Penn will need to finish strong if they hope to move out of the middle of the pack in the Ivy League.

With that goal in mind, Saturday’s win was an important step in the right direction. 

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