Baldwin City, Kan. – The seventh ranked Columbia College volleyball team was back in action today when they traveled to Baldwin City, Kansas, to compete in the 2017 Baker Invitational. The Cougars, who edged out Central Methodist (Mo.) University in a close five set match on Wednesday, were able to improve to 8-2 on the season after defeating Ottawa (Kan.) University in four sets (20-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-18) and Baker (Kan.) University in four sets (25-15, 25-14, 22-25, 25-13).

In their first match against the Braves, both sides came out and exchanged points to start the first set. The score remained close for most of the game but a 9-1 run from Ottawa midway through the set propelled them to an eight point lead. The Cougars did their best to get back into the game but were unable to catch up to the Braves as they dropped the set by a final score of 25-20.

The second set started similar to the first as both sides traded points early in the game. With the score tied at six, Columbia College was able to go on a 6-1 run to take a 12-7 lead in the set. The Braves battled back and were able to cut the Cougars lead to two but that was as close as they would get as Columbia College closed them out down the final stretch to tie the match at one.

After taking the third set by a final score of 25-23, the Cougars held a 2-1 lead in the match heading into the fourth game. Columbia found themselves trailing early in the set but were able to battle back and tied the score at 12 midway through the game. They continued to play well as the set progressed and went on a 5-1 run late in the game to take a commanding lead in the set. The Braves tried desperately to get back into the game but the Cougars were able to secure the final points to solidify the 3-1 victory.

The Cougars were led by Caroline Clifford who finished the match with a team high 12 kills and added 12 digs. In addition, Peiyi Liu had 11 kills and Gabriela Walton finished with 26 digs to round out the top performers for Columbia.

In the Cougars second match against Baker, they were able to jump out to a quick 4-1 lead in the first set and never looked back. The Wildcats cut Columbia's lead to 6-5 early in the game but that was as close as they would get as the Cougars cruised to a 25-15 victory to take a 1-0 lead in the match.

Columbia College carried their momentum from the first set into the second and jumped out to an early 8-4 lead over the Wildcats. They continued to play well throughout the game and used a 10-2 run midway through the set to take an 11 point lead. The Wildcats did their best to get back into the game but the Cougars were just too much to handle as they took a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-14 victory.

Baker was able to bounce back in the third set and cut Columbia's lead to 2-1 in the match with a 25-22 victory but in the fourth set it was all Cougars. They took an early 5-2 lead in the game and seemed to always be one step ahead of the Wildcats. Baker tied the set at 11 midway through the game but an 8-1 run from the Cougars gave them a big lead late in the set and lifted them to a 25-13 victory to solidify their second win of the day.

Peiyi Liu led the way for Columbia as she finished with a match high 16 kills. To go along with Liu, Zori Curry had 12 kills, Caroline Clifford had 10 kills and 14 digs, and Pamela Jaime added 11 kills to lead the Cougars offensively. Selina Merfol had 48 assists in the match and Gabriela Walton had a match high 26 digs.

The Cougars will return to the court tomorrow, September 9^th when they continue play in the 2017 Baker Invitational. Columbia College will play two games including a 1 p.m. start against Bethany (Kan.) University followed by a 4 p.m. start against Graceland (Iowa) University.