Columbia, Mo. – The Columbia College volleyball team defeated No. 19 Wayland Baptist 3-1 (25-21, 20-25, 25-23, 25-20) in their first match before falling to No. 4 Viterbo University 3-1 (25-17, 23-25, 20-25, 19-25) on day one of the Hampton Inn Classic. The Cougars, ranked No. 10 in the NAIA, post a 4-2 record on the season.

The eight-team, two-day classic features; # 10 Columbia College, #23 Lewis-Clark State College, Lindenwood University-Belleville, #7 Lindsey Wilson College, #3 Missouri Baptist University, #1 Park University, #19 Wayland Baptist University, and #4 Viterbo University

In the first game of the day, against Wayland Baptist, neither team was able to gain seperation until late in game one when the Cougars took a 17-13 lead. Wayland battled back and eventually pulled within one at 19-18, but Columbia would take six of the next nine points to win set one, 25-21.

Set two played out much like the first as both teams traded points to begin the game. With the score tied at 11, Wayland Baptist finally found momentum as they scored seven straight points to go ahead 18-11. The Cougars worked to eliminate the deficit, but couldn't get the job done as the Pioneers took set two, 25-20.

Columbia struggled in the third set as the Pioneers raced out to a 10-3 lead. With Wayland Baptist up 17-11, the Cougars used an 8-2 run to tie the score at 19. The teams went back and forth from there, eventually tying the score at 22. A kill by Viktoriia Lavrenchenko and two kills from Penny Liu would prove to be enough as the Cougars won set three, 25-23.

The Pioneers kept things close to begin the fourth set, but Columbia used an 8-3 run to take a commanding 17-9 lead. Wayland Baptist worked their way back with the help of seven Cougar errors to tie the score at 20. Two Pioneer errors, two kills by Lavrenchenko, and a kill by Sashiko Heredia allowed the Cougars to take the next five points to win set four, 25-20.

The Cougars posted 61 kills to go along with a .238 hitting percentage in the match, led by 15 kills from Liu. Columbia also received a match-high 47 assists from Heredia and 14 digs from Mikah Simpson.

Against the V-Hawks, the Cougars used an 8-1 run to grab an early 10-4 lead and controlled the game from there. Columbia won set one 25-17 after finishing with a .522 hitting percentage.

Game two started very differently from the first with Viterbo taking a 9-4 lead over the Cougars. The V-Hawks maintained a five point lead until the Cougars pulled within one at 19-18 with the help of a service ace by Heredia and back-to-back kills by Liu. After trading points, the Cougars finally went ahead 22-21 after a kill by Erini Chatziefstratiadou and two errors by the visiting team. A Viterbo timeout would prove to be helpful as they would take four of the next five points to win set two, 25-23.

Both teams kept things close to begin the third set until the V-Hawks used a 7-2 run to go up 12-7. However, the Cougars came fighting back as they used an 8-2 run to tie it up at 15. With the score knotted at 17, Viterbo would take advantage of five Cougar errors and three kills to win set three, 25-20.

The fourth set was no different than the others, as neither team was able to go ahead by more than three. With the V-Hawks up late in the set, the Cougars would commit four errors, giving the visitors the advantage and the win.

Liu led the Cougars with 15 kills on the night. Heredia chipped in 43 assists while Sami Meyer led the team with 13 digs.

For a complete list of today's Hampton Inn Classic matches and results, click here.

Columbia will be back in action at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow to take on No. 23 Lewis-Clark State University in day two of the Hampton Inn Classic. The Cougars will wrap up play against fourth-ranked Lindsey Wilson College at 3:00 p.m. in the NAIA Volleyball Match of the Week.