Columbia, Mo. – The fourth ranked Columbia College volleyball team took the court this evening as they faced the Freed-Hardeman University (Tenn.) Lions in the AMC Tournament Quarterfinals. The Cougars advance to the semifinals with a sweep over the Lions (25-17, 25-13, 25-19) to improve to 35-3 on the season.
Prior to the start of the match, the American Midwest Conference announced the AMC Academic All-Conference awards. To be eligible for Academic All-Conference honors, student-athletes must be in their second semester at their AMC institution and have at least a 3.0 GPA. For their efforts in the classroom, Allison Garcia, Kiersten Anderson, Michaela Karrick, Pamela Jaime, and Selina Merfol were all recognized. In addition, Barbara Sabino was named the AMC Champions of Character team.
As the Cougars began post-season play, each team came out exchanging points to start off. Columbia had a bit of a slow start as they trailed 6-4. The Cougars began to find their groove as they went on a 5-1 run to lead 9-7. A Freed-Hardeman timeout was called as Columbia held a two point lead, 10-8. As the first set progressed, the Cougars held the lead, but the Lions were not out of striking distance as it was 17-15, Columbia. While the Cougars separated themselves, 21-16, the Lions called another timeout. Columbia went on to take set one 25-17.
In set two, Columbia took a 7-2 lead early. Midway through the Cougars were in control with a 13-5 score. Columbia rolled on to a 25-13 victory to take the 2-0 advantage in the match. In the third, the game was tied at four each to begin. The game stayed close over the next few points, but then Columbia began to grab some space leading 10-6, as Freed-Hardeman called for a timeout. The Lions put up a fight, but Columbia would complete the sweep with a 25-19 win in the final set.
Columbia was led by Maria Sandoval who recorded 10 kills, while Sidney Branson and Manuela Vargas each tallied six digs. In addition, Vargas had 31 assists on the night.
The volleyball team will continue post-season play on Friday, November, 9th when they travel to Parkville, Missouri to take on the Missouri Baptist University Spartans in the AMC Tournament Semifinals. The match is set to start at 6:30 p.m.
