Columbia, Mo. – The Columbia College volleyball team was in action Saturday on the second day of the Hampton Inn Classic. In the first match they were defeated in three sets by Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) University (26-24, 30-28, 25-18). In the second match the Cougars were defeated in three sets by No. 4 ranked Viterbo (Wis.) University (25-22, 25-19, 25-20) in the NAIA Match of the Week. Columbia College is now 1-6 on the season.

In the first set against Our Lady of the Lake, Columbia College was in the lead for most of the set. However, the Saints were able to go on a late 6-0 run and outlasted the Cougars 26-24. Leilani Smith led the Saints with eight kills on twelve attempts. The second set of the match started off neck-and-neck. With the score tied at nine, the Saints went on an 8-2 run and never looked back. Kendall Groff had seven kills in the set to lead the Saints to a 30-28 victory. The third set was all OLLU as they jumped out to an early lead and were able to hold off the Cougar attack for most of the game. They took the third set 25-18 and were led by Kendall Groff who had six kills.

The Cougars had 53 kills and a .305 attacking percentage in the match. They were led by Maria Franco who had 14 kills and Gabriela Walton who had a match high 12 digs. Peiyi Liu and Eirini Chatziefstratiadou each had 11 kills. In the first set against Viterbo, the Cougars found themselves down early and were never able to get over the hump falling to the V-Hawks 25-22. Despite the loss, Liu had a set high seven kills to lead the Cougars. With the score tied at five in the second set, the V-Hawks went on an 8-2 run to take control of the game. They took the second set with a final score of 25-19. Sierra Skow led the V-Hawks with a game high six kills.

The Cougars took an early lead in the third set but were unable to hold off the V-Hawks strong attack throughout the game as the visiting squad was able to complete the three set sweep over Columbia College with a 25-20 win.

The Cougars had 33 kills and a .135 attacking percentage against the V-Hawks. Peiyi Liu and Johanna Mueller each had 10 kills to lead Columbia College. Sashiko Heredia added 24 assists to her impressive weekend total in the final match.

Following today's matches an all-classic and MVP was named. Columbia's Peiyi Liu received all-classic honors for the Cougars. For a complete list of the Hampton Inn Classic results and all-classic team, click here.

The Cougars are back in action on Tuesday, September 6^th when they host Baker (Kan.) University. Game time is set for 7 p.m. in the Southwell Complex.