Women's Volleyball | 9/29/2017 7:44:00 PM
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Kankakee, Ill. – The seventh ranked Columbia College volleyball team was back in action today when they traveled to Kankakee, Illinois, to compete in the 2017 Olivet Nazarene University Holiday Inn Express Invitational. The Cougars played two matches on the first day of the tournament notching a 3-2 set (25-20, 25-23, 19-25, 20-25, 15-13) victory over Campbellsville (Ky.) University and then a 3-1 set (25-27, 25-22, 25-21, 27-25) victory over Indiana Tech. With the two wins, Columbia improves to 16-3 on the season.
In their first match against the Tigers, Columbia College got off to a great start as they jumped out to an early 8-3 lead to start the first set. The Tigers battled back and were able to cut the Cougars lead to three late in the set but Columbia was too much for them to handle down the stretch and the Cougars took the first game 25-20.
Despite dropping the first set, the Tigers bounced back in the second game were able to score the first five points of the set to take an early 5-0 lead. The Cougars struggled to get anything going for most of the game but were able to tie Campbellsville at 19 late in the set before ending the game on a 6-4 run to take a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-23 victory.
After falling to the Tigers in the next two sets, the Cougars found themselves tied at two heading into the final game. They got off to a slow start in the final set and were trailing 4-1 to the Tigers early. However, Columbia College came storming back and were able to tie the game at six before going on a 5-1 run to take a 11-7 lead late in the set. The Tigers were able to cut Columbia's lead 14-13 but an attacking error from Campbellsville lifted the Cougars to a 15-13 victory and their 15th win of the season.
The Cougars were led by Zori Curry (13), Caroline Clifford (12), and Pamela Jaime (10) who each recorded double-digit kills in the match. In addition, Allison Garcia and Gabriela Walton each added 12 digs while Yamilet Velazquez finished with a team high 42 assists to round out the top performers for Columbia.
In the Cougars second match against the Warriors, both sides came out and exchanged points to start the first set. The score remained close throughout the entire game but with the score tied at 24 late in the set the Warriors were able to go on a 3-1 run to take the first game by a final score of 27-25.
Indiana Tech was able to carry over their momentum from the first set into the second and jumped out to a quick 9-5 lead. The Cougars had a tough time getting anything going early in the game but a 9-5 run midway through the set gave Columbia a 19-14 lead. The Warriors battled back and were able to cut the Cougars lead to two late in the set but that was as close as they would get as Columbia took the second game and tied the match at one with a 25-22 victory.
After taking the third set 25-21, the Cougars led 2-1 in the match heading into the fourth game. The Cougars jumped out to a quick 7-1 lead in the fourth set but a 10-4 run from the Warriors tied the set at 11. The game remained close throughout the rest of the set but with the score tied at 25 Columbia College was able to score the final two points to solidify their second win of the day with a 27-25 victory.
Caroline Clifford led the way for Columbia as she finished with a match high 17 kills and 10 digs. To go along with Cliffords 17 kills, Zori Curry added 10 kills, Pamela Jaime tallied 13 kills, and Ariadne Borges finished with 12 kills to lead the Cougars offensively. Yamilet Velazquez continued to do a great job of running the offense and racked up 40 assists to go along with 10 digs in the match. Gabriela Walton finished with a match team high 13 digs.
The Cougars are back in action tomorrow, September 30th when they continue play in the 2017 Olivet Nazarene University Holiday Inn Express Invitational. Columbia will play two matches on the day including an 11 a.m. start against Indiana Wesleyan University followed by a 3 p.m. start against Taylor (Ind.) University.
