Columbia, Mo. – The 10^th-ranked Cougar volleyball team was challenged today as they concluded the 2015 Hampton Inn Classic with two tough losses against ranked teams. They opened the day with a 3-0 loss to 23^rd-ranked Lewis-Clark State College (Idaho) before falling 3-1 in the NAIA Match of the Week to 7^th-ranked Lindsey Wilson College (Ky.). With the losses, Columbia falls to 4-4 on the season.

Errors plagued the Cougars in game one against the Warriors. Columbia led the majority of the match, but 11 errors by Columbia would prove to be costly as LC State took set one, 25-20. The Warriors hit .357 in the set while the Cougars only hit .219.

Both teams kept things close in the second set, as neither team led by more than three. With the score tied 18-18, the Warriors took six of the next seven points to capture the 25-19 set win to go up 2-0 in the match.

The Cougars trailed by five late after keeping it close for most of the third set. Columbia fought their way back to cut the deficit to two at 20-22 after kills by Penny Liu and Amber Graham. However, three kills by the Warriors would allow them to take the third set win, 25-22 and walk away with the match victory.

The Cougars struggled offensively throughout the match, committing 20 total hitting errors to go along with 11 service errors. Liu led the team with 11 kills from the outside and while Graham had nine of her own. Sashiko Heredia led the Cougars with 13 assists and Sami Meyer had six digs in the match.

Set one against the No. 7 Blue Raiders went back and forth as neither team would be able to gain separation. The two teams traded points, tying the game seven different times. With the set knotted at 26, kills by Liu and Eirini Chatziefstratiadou would be enough as the Cougars pulled away with the first set, 28-26.

The second set mirrored the first, as neither team led by more than two points. With the score tied 16-16,  the Cougars went ahead 19-16 thanks to a service ace by Jordan Kriete, a block by Liu, and a kill by Viktoriia Lavrenchenko. However, the Blue Raiders came fighting back and eventually tied the score at 23. Lindsey Wilson took the next two points after a kill and an error by the Cougars to win set two, 25-23.

The Blue Raiders won set three 25-11 with little resistance after hitting .550 to go up 2-1 in the match. Lindsey Wilson dominated the fourth set as well and would win, 25-15.

The Cougars finished the match hitting .199 while Lindsey Wilson hit .252. Liu led Columbia with 15 kills to go along with a match-high 16 digs. Freshman Sasha Robinson tallied 36 assists in the contest.

Following the game an all-classic team was named. Liu was selected to represent Columbia College. See the full All-Classic Team list by clicking here.
 
The Cougars will return to action Friday, September 11th when they host American Midwest Conference member Lyon College. Match time is set for 7:00 p.m. in the Arena of Southwell Complex.