Columbia, Mo. – The #1 ranked Columbia College women's volleyball team defeated the University of St. Francis (Ind.) in four sets (25-12, 25-17, 20-25, 25-14) and were defeated by #14 ranked Lourdes (Ohio) University in three sets (33-31, 25-23, 25-19). The Cougars finished the first day of the classic and move to 1-4 on the season.

The eight team, two-day classic features; #1 Columbia College, #2 Missouri Baptist University, #4 Viterbo University, #12 Park University, #14 Lourdes University, Olivet Nazarene University, University of St. Francis, and Our Lady of the Lake University.

The Cougars jumped on the University of St. Francis (Ind.) early in the first set by taking a 10-4 lead. Maria Franco led Columbia with five kills on seven attempts as the Cougars took the first set 25-12.

In the second set of the match, Columbia College took the lead early again and never looked back. The Cougars rallied behind Caroline Clifford's six kills for a 25-17 victory.

The Cougars found themselves down early in the third set of the match and were never quite able to dig themselves out of the hole. The University of St. Francis (Ind.) spread the ball around with six different players accounting for nine total kills in the 25-20 win.

The fourth set of the match started off neck-and-neck with each team exchanging points. With the score tied at eight, Columbia College broke out of the slump and rattled off four straight points to take control of the game. The Cougars did not trail after that, taking the fourth set 25-14 and winning the match 3-1.

The Cougars had 56 kills on a 0.330 attacking percentage lead by Peiyi Liu who had a match high 15 kills. Caroline Clifford added 11 kills for the Cougars and Maria Franco tacked on another 10. Columbia also received a match high in assists from Sashiko Heredia with 46.

In the second match of the day, the Cougars got off to a strong start in the first set going on a 6-2 run to start the game. Despite getting off to an early lead, the Gray Wolves controlled most of the set until Columbia came storming back to tie the game at 22. Both teams exchanged points until the Grey Wolves were finally able to edge the Cougars to take the first set 33-31. Molly Shonk had a set high five kills to lead Lourdes (Ohio) University.

The second set of the match was much like the first with both teams exchanging points back and forth. Late in the game with the score tied at 23, Ave Stout had a kill to make it 24-23 and then she blocked the Cougars final attack to give the Gray Wolves the 25-23 win.

Both teams kept the third set close until Lourdes was able to go on a 7-2 run to take a 17-12 lead late in the game. Lourdes (Ohio) University solidified their victory winning the third set 25-19 to improve their overall record to 4-2 on the season.

Liu led the Cougars with 12 kills and 11 digs. Heredia had a match high 30 assists.

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

The Cougars are back in action tomorrow on the second day of the Hampton Inn Classic when they take on Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) at 11 a.m. They will then wrap up play at 3 p.m. when they take on the #4 ranked Viterbo (Wis.) University in the NAIA Match of the Week.