Box Score Columbia, Mo. - The Cougar Volleyball team posted a 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-10) victory over Lyon College in the opening round of the American Midwest Conference (AMC) Tournament on Tuesday night. Columbia, the league's regular season champion and No. 1 seed, improves to 26-9 overall with their ninth consecutive win dating back to October 23^rd.

The Cougars led 13-11 midway through game one and used a 6-0 run to take the set 25-18. The Scots opened game two on a 5-1 run, but Columbia would reel off nine straight points on their way to a 25-19 victory and a 2-0 lead in the match. The Cougars built an early lead in the third set and ended the game on an 8-1 run for a 25-10 win to close out the match.

Paula Rosa and Trinity Ojo led the Columbia attack with 14 and 11 kills, respectively. Lydie van Deursen handed out a match-high 36 assists and Sarah Schwentker had nine of the Cougars' 30 digs on the night.

Members of the Academic All-AMC team were also honored prior to the start of tonight's match. Columbia representatives included Schwentker, Erin Pavlin, Jordan Reid, and Brooke Simpson.

In Tuesday's latest release of the NAIA Top 25 Poll, the Cougars moved up one spot to No. 12 in the national rankings. The University of Texas at Brownsville (31-0) maintained the top spot in the poll with a unanimous 22 first-place votes, followed by Concordia (Calif.) University, Biola (Calif.) University, Madonna (Mich.) University, and Northwestern (Iowa) College. Fellow AMC member school Park University, the No. 2 seed in the tournament, checked in at 11^th and moved on to Thursday's semifinal round with a 3-0 win over Mid-Continent University on Tuesday night. Missouri Baptist University, the tournament's No. 3 seed, also advanced with a 3-0 victory over Williams Baptist College.

Columbia will move on to host No. 5 seed Freed-Hardeman University in the semifinal round of the AMC Tournament on Thursday, November 14^th. The Lions defeated No. 4 seed William Woods University 3-2 on Tuesday night. As regular season champions and the tournament's top seed, Columbia will have home-court advantage throughout the tournament. Match time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the Arena of Southwell Complex. For the complete tournament bracket and schedule, visit www.amcsportsonline.com