Columbia, Mo. – The thirteenth ranked Columbia College volleyball team was back in action today as they hosted the 2017 Fall Volleyball Classic. The Cougars played two matches on the first day notching a 3-0 set (25-20, 25-21, 25-22) win over Evangel (Mo.) University and then a 3-0 set (25-22, 25-23, 25-23) victory over sixth ranked Westmont (Calif.) College. With the two wins, Columbia improves to 22-3 on the season.
In the first match the Crusaders took a quick 4-1 lead to start. The Cougars staying poised, used an 11-4 run to take an 18-10 lead midway through the set. The Crusaders battled back cutting Columbia's lead 24-20, but the Cougars held on to win the first set 25-20.
To start the second set the Cougars jumped out to a 5-1 lead. Evangel fought back to tie the Cougars at 10 midway through the second game. Each team exchanged points as the score was tied 16-16 late in the set. Columbia used a 9-5 run to get some separation from the Crusaders as they won set two by a score of 25-21.
Evangel quickly took an 8-3 lead to start the third set. The Cougars had a tough time getting things going early in the game, but used an 11-4 run to tie the Crusaders at 20 late in the set. In a close contest, Columbia was able to overcome the Crusaders by a final score of 25-22 in the final set.
The Cougars were led by Pamela Jaime (13) and Ariadne Borges (11) as they both recorded double-digit kills in the match. In addition, Gabriela Walton recorded 15 digs and Caroline Clifford tallied 10, while Yamilet Velazquez had a match high 37 assists to round out the top performers for Columbia.
In Columbia's second match against the Warriors, the Cougars came out strong taking a 7-2 lead in the first set. Westmont cut the Cougar's lead 14-12 midway through set one. The Warriors remained close the duration of the game, but were unable to top Columbia as they took set one 25-22.
Both teams came out and exchanged points to start the second set. The score remained close throughout the game as they found themselves tied at 16 midway through the set. The Warriors used a 5-2 run to go up 21-18 over the Cougars late in the game. Columbia quickly using a 3-0 run of its own tied the game back up at 21. Columbia was able to hold off Westmont in the final moments as they took a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-23 victory.
The third set started much like the second, each side going point for point. Neither team was able to find any real separation as they were tied 12-12 midway through the third game. As the battle continued, Columbia found themselves tied 23-23 late in the match. The Cougars were able to score the final two points to secure their second win of the day by a final score of 25-23.
Columbia was led by Pamela Jaime (13) and Caroline Clifford (10) who each recorded double-digit kills. In addition, Caroline Clifford also tallied 10 digs along with Gabriela Walton who recorded 15. Yamilet Velazquez notched 33 assists.
The Cougars are back in action tomorrow, Saturday, October 14th when they continue the 2017 Fall Volleyball Classic. They are set to play The Masters (Calif.) University at 11:00 a.m. and MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) University at 5:00 p.m. at Southwell Complex.
