Box Score Parkville, Mo. – The fourth ranked Columbia College volleyball team was back in action tonight when they traveled to Parkville, Missouri, to take on the top ranked Park (Mo.) University Pirates in the AMC Game of the Week. The Cougars were defeated in five sets (25-23, 20-25, 22-25, 25-11, 13-15) to fall to 27-3 on the season and 7-2 in AMC play.
In the first set of the match, both sides came out and exchanged points to start the game. With the score tied at five, the Cougars were able to go on a 7-2 run and held a 12-7 advantage midway through the set. The Pirates battled back and were able to cut Columbia's lead to 17-16 and the score remained close for the remainder of the set. With Columbia leading 22-21, the Cougars were able to pick up the next two points before eventually solidifying the first set of the contest on a kill from Pamela Jaime to take the first game by a final score of 25-23.
After dropping the second set by a final score of 25-20, the Cougars were able to bounce back to start the third and were able to jump out to an early 8-2 lead. The Pirates answered with a 6-1 run of their own to cut Columbia's lead to 9-8 but the Cougars were able to score three of the next four points to take a 12-9 lead in the game. The Pirates picked up their play as the game progressed and were able to tie the set at 13 before going on a 5-3 run to take an 18-16 lead late in game. The Cougars battled back and were able to cut the lead to one but that was as close as they would get as Park closed them out down the stretch to take a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-22 victory.
Columbia College came out in the third set and immediately jumped out to an 11-5 lead in the game. They continued to play well as the set progressed and were able to use a 9-2 run to take a 20-9 lead late in the game. The Pirates did their best to get back into the game but the Cougars played tough defense and were able to tie the match at two sets apiece with a 25-11 win.
Both sides came out in the fifth set and exchanged points to start the game. With the score tied at two, the Pirates were able to go on a 4-1 run and held a 6-2 advantage in the set. The Cougars battled back and were able to cut the lead to one but a 6-2 run from the Pirates gave them a 12-7 lead in the set. Columbia did the best they could to get back into the game and were able to cut the lead to 13-12 but ultimately the Pirates were able to pick up the final points of the match to hand the Cougars their third loss of the season with a 15-13 victory.
Columbia College was led by Caroline Clifford who had a match high 18 kills. To go along with Clifford, Pamela Jaime had a season high 16 kills, Thais Andrade added a season high 26 digs, and Kiersten Anderson finished with 14 digs. Manuela Vargas also had an impressive outing as she finished with 50 assists and a match high 26 digs.
The Cougars are back in action tomorrow, October 19th when they play host to the Ottawa (Kan.) University Braves in a nonconference matchup. The game is set to start at 7 p.m. in the Southwell Athletic Complex.
