Grand Island, Neb. – The eighth ranked Columbia College volleyball team was back in action today when they took on the top ranked Hastings (Neb.) College Broncos in the 2017 Bill Marshall Volleyball Classic. The Cougars, who were able to win both of their matches yesterday, were unable to defeat Hastings as they were swept by the Broncos in three straight sets (18-25, 25-27, 23-25). With the loss, Columbia falls to 2-1 on the season.

In their first set against Broncos, the Cougars had a tough time getting anything going and Hastings was able to take an early 10-5 lead. Columbia College scored the next two points to cut the Broncos lead to 10-7 but then a 6-0 run gave Hastings a commanding lead in the set. The Cougars did the best they could to catch up to the Broncos down the stretch and were able to cut the lead to four but that was as close as they would get as Hastings closed out the game and took a 1-0 set lead in the match.

In the second set of the match, both sides came out and exchanged points early. With the score tied at six the Cougars were able to go on a 3-0 run and took a 9-6 lead in the set. Columbia College was able to keep the lead for the next few points but a 7-0 run from the Broncos propelled them to a three point lead midway through the game. Despite being down, the Cougars continued to battle and were able to tie the score at 18 before matching the Broncos point-for-point late in the game. However, with the score tied at 25, Hastings was able to pick up the final two points of the set to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

The third set started similar to the second set as the both sides exchanged points early to start the game. The score remained close for a majority of the set as neither side was able to break away from the other. The Cougars did the best they could to jump out in front but with the score tied at 21 the Broncos were able to close out the game on a 4-2 run to complete the three game sweep.

Columbia College was led by Yamilet Velazquez who finished with 24 assists and 10 digs. In addition to Velazquez, Johanna Mueller tallied a team high nine kills and 14 digs and Gabriela Walton finished with 11 digs to round out the top performers for the Cougars.

Columbia College is back in action on Friday, September 1^st when they host the 2017 Hampton Inn Classic. The Cougars will play two games on Friday including a 3 p.m. start against the University of Saint Francis (Ind.) followed by a 7 p.m. start against Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) University.