BOX SCORE

NEW YORK -- Senior Megan Gaughn recorded a season-high 24 kills to break Columbia's all-time record and lift the Lions to a 3-1 victory over Penn Friday night at Levien Gym.

Gaughn surpassed the previous record of 1,256 set by Amalia Viti from 2005-08, and now sits as the career leader with 1,264 kills.

Columbia (13-9, 8-5 Ivy League) earned its fourth consecutive win by scores of 25-21, 18-25, 28-26, 25-16 as Penn fell to 13-11 overall and 8-5 in conference action.

Penn was the first to score in the first set, but four straight kills by the Lions put Columbia on top the rest of the way.

The second set was a back-and-forth battle up to an 11-all midway through. A 4-1 Penn run put the Quakers in front, 15-12, but Columbia rallied back to knot the score at 15. The score was tied once more at 16-16, but that would be as close as the Lions would come as the Quakers picked up the momentum and evened the series using a 9-2 run to close out the second set.

The third set also began as a close fight. With the score tied 13-13, Columbia embarked on a 5-0 run to regain the lead. Gaughn registered four kills in a row during the surge as she became Columbia's all-time leader in kills.

With the Lions up 19-15, Penn went outscored the Lions 4-1 to knot the score, 22-22. A kill by Caitlin Brenton put the Lions back in front, but the Quakers followed up with a kill by Emma White to make it 23-23. The teams traded points yet again for another tie at 24. Katarina Jovicic posted a kill to put the Lions back in the lead, but two attacking errors by Columbia pushed Penn into the lead, 26-25. The Lions silenced the Quakers for the final time of the set with three consecutive points, bringing the crowd to its feet as the Lions took a 2-1 match advantage.

Columbia pulled away from a 3-3 tie in the fourth set to build up to a 12-5 advantage. From there, the Lions were nearly unstoppable and continued to extend its lead en route to the victory.

Gaughn not only recorded 24 kills, but made it another double-double as she added 14 digs. Brenton also had a strong day on attack for the Lions, contributing 13 kills to go with a team-best .444 hitting percentage thanks to committing only one attack error on the night. 

Colleen Brennan was the second Lion to record a double-double, as she recorded a match-high 53 assists and 16 digs. Charlee Dyroff led the Lions with a team-high 28 digs on the night.

Columbia will look to roll with its fifth straight win as the Lions close out the season at home for Senior Night on Saturday against Princeton at 5 p.m.