Women's Volleyball | 10/11/2016 12:21:00 PM

Columbia, Mo. – The Columbia College volleyball team is back on the court on Wednesday, October 12^th when they travel to Fulton, Missouri, to take on William Woods (Mo.) University in the AMC Game of the week. The Cougars have been playing great volleyball as of late and hope to continue their winning streak against the Owls.

After starting the year by dropping seven of their first nine matches, the defending NAIA National Champion Cougars have gotten things back on track. The Cougars are 10-1 in their last 11 matches, with the only loss during that span coming on the road at Missouri Baptist University. This week is also a pivotal week for the Cougars, as after Wednesday evening's tilt with the Owls, Columbia will face three ranked opponents over the weekend. For Columbia to solidify their place and secure an at-large bid to the NAIA National Championship, if needed, they must take advantage of opportunities to climb back up in the ratings.

In order for the Cougars to do this, they will need another strong performance from Peiyi Liu who was recently named the AMC Attacker of the Week for the second time this season. Liu, a 6-3 junior right side hitter from Nanjing, China, helped the cougars to a 3-0 week in which they did not lose a set. Liu had 15 kills, six digs, and a block in the Cougars 3-0 win over NAIA #11 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) University on Tuesday night. She followed that up with 12 kills, eight digs, two aces, and two blocks against Harris-Stowe State (Mo.) University on Wednesday, and 11 kills, four digs, an ace, and two blocks against Lyon (Ark.) College on Sunday. Liu averaged 4.22 kills per set, and she hit .508 for the week.

For the Owls, their focus is on putting themselves in position to host an AMC Quarterfinal match. The Owls and Cougars are currently tied for third in the AMC standings, two games clear of Lindenwood (Ill.) University-Belleville, but the Lynx hold the tiebreaker on the Owls thanks to a four-set win from last week. Additionally, Lindenwood-Belleville has already faced all three of the perennial powers in the AMC, while the Owls still have Missouri Baptist and Park remaining – and both of those matches are on the road.

Columbia College holds a sizeable edge in the all-time series, as this will be the 79th meeting all-time between the two clubs. The Cougars have won 52 of the previous meetings, William Woods has won 25, and the teams have tied once. The match is set to begin at 7 p.m. in Fulton.