Columbia, Mo. – The fourth ranked Columbia College women's volleyball team was back in action tonight when they played host to Stephens (Mo.) College in their final home game of the 2018 regular season. The Cougars were able to defeat the Stars in three straight sets (25-9, 25-9, 25-20) to improve to 32-3 on the season and 9-2 in the American Midwest Conference.

Columbia College came out in the first half and took it to the Stars early. They were able to score the first five points of the game before Stephens College was able to get on the board, and then went on an 8-3 run to take a 13-5 lead in the set. The Cougars continued to swing well in the game and were able to cruise to a 25-9 victory to take a 1-0 lead in the match.

The second set started similar to the first as the Cougars were able to jump out to an early 6-2 lead before forcing the Stars to call a timeout. They played well as the set progressed and went on a 12-6 run to take an 18-8 lead late in the game. The Stars did their best to get back into the set but the Cougars were too strong down the stretch and they took the second game by a final score of 25-9 to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Columbia College came out in the third set and took an 8-3 lead in the game. The Stars battled back and were able to cut the lead to 9-7 before tying the game at 14. Both sides exchanged the next few points but the Cougars were able to end the game on a 10-5 run to take the third set by a final score of 25-20 and complete the three game sweep.

Sidney Branson led the way for Columbia College as she finished with a match high 12 kills. In addition to Branson, Selina Merfol finished with a match high 23 assists and Manuela Vargas added 11 assists to round out the top performers for the Cougars.

The volleyball team is back in action when they travel to Conway, Arkansas, to take on the Central Baptist (Ark.) College Mustangs in an AMC matchup. The game is set to start at 7 p.m.