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Kankakee, Ill. – The seventh ranked Columbia College volleyball team was back in action today when they continued play in the 2017 Olivet Nazarene University Holiday Inn Express Invitational. The Cougars, who won both of their matches yesterday on the first day of the tournament, were able to improve to 18-3 on the season after defeating Indiana Wesleyan University in their first match in three straight sets (25-11, 25-23, 25-19) and then went on to defeat Taylor (Ind.) University in three straight sets (25-22, 25-14, 25-20) to improve to 4-0 on the weekend.
The Cougars came out in their first match against the Wildcats and took it to them early in the first set. They jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead and never looked back as they held Indiana Wesleyan to just eight kills in the set. Columbia College played well throughout the entire game and were able to take a 1-0 lead in the match with a 25-11 victory.
The Cougars continued to play well in the second set of the match and jumped out to another early lead. The Wildcats were able to battle back and tie the game at 11 and held a 17-14 lead midway through the set. However, Columbia College was able to end the game on an 11-6 run and took the second set 25-23 to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
In the third set of the match, both sides came out and exchanged points to start the game. With the score tied at six the Cougars were able to go on an 8-1 run and held a 14-7 lead midway through the set. The Wildcats did their best to get back into the game but Columbia was able to close them out to solidify the three game sweep with a 25-19 win.
Columbia College was led by Zori Curry and Caroline Clifford who each finished with a match high 12 kills in the contest. In addition, Yamilet Velazquez finished with a match high 25 assists and Gabriela Walton added a match high 18 digs to round out the top performers for the Columbia.
In Columbia's second match against the Trojans, Taylor was able to jump out to an early lead in the first set. The Cougars battled back and were able to tie the game at 16 midway through the set and then went on a 9-6 run to end the game and take the first set by a final score of 25-22.
Columbia College was able to carry over their momentum from the first set into the second and jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead in the game. They continued to play well as the set progressed and held a 15-10 lead midway through the game. The Trojans did their best to get back into the contest but the Cougars were able to close them out down the stretch and took a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-14 victory.
In the third set, both sides came out and exchanged points early. However, with the score tied at five the Cougars were able to use a 9-1 run to take a 14-6 lead midway through the game. The Trojans were able to cut Columbia's lead to three late in the set but that was as close as they would get as the Cougars picked up the final points to solidify the three game sweep with a 25-20 win.
Columbia College was led by Caroline Clifford (17) and Pamela Jaime (10) who both finished with double digit kills in the match. To go along with the attack, Yamilet Velazquez finished with a match high 36 assists while Gabriela Walton and Selina Merfol both added 13 digs.
The Cougars are back in action on Tuesday, October 3rd when they play host to the 10th ranked Missouri Baptist University Spartans in the AMC Game of the Week. The match is set to start at 7 p.m. in the Southwell Athletic Complex.
