Sioux City, Iowa – The third ranked Columbia College volleyball team was back in action this morning when they took on the Viterbo (Wis.) University V-Hawks in the semifinals of the 2018 NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championships presented by Delta Hotels in Sioux City, Iowa. The Cougars were able to defeat the V-Hawks in four sets (25-22, 25-14, 20-25, 25-12) to improve to 42-4 on the season and advance to the 2018 NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championship Game.
Columbia College got off to a slow start in the first set as the V-Hawks jumped out to an early 6-2 lead. The Cougars settled in as the set progressed and answered with an 8-2 run of their own to take a 10-8 lead in the game. Viterbo quickly tied the game at 10 but a 3-0 run from Columbia gave them a 13-10 lead midway through the set. The V-Hawks once again were able to tie the game over the next few rallies, but with the score tied at 15 the Cougars used a 7-3 run to take a 22-18 lead late in the game. The V-Hawks did their best to get back into the set, and were able to cut the lead to 23-22, but that was as close as they would get as Columbia picked up the final two points of the game to take a 1-0 lead in the match with a 25-22 victory.
The Cougars carried over their momentum from the first game into the second and were able to jump out to an early 4-1 lead. The V-Hawks battled back and were able to tie the game at four but a 9-2 run from Columbia gave them a 13-6 lead midway through the set. The Cougars continued to play well as the game progressed and were able to extend their lead to 20-11 late in the set. Columbia College ended the game on a 5-3 run and clinched the second set by a final score of 25-14 to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
In the third set of the match, both sides came out and exchanged points early in the game. With the score tied at 10, Viterbo went on a 7-1 run to take a 17-11 lead in the game. The Cougars bounced back and were able to cut the lead to 22-19 late in the set but that was as close as they would get as the V-Hawks closed them out down the stretch to solidify the third set by a final score of 25-20 to cut the Cougars lead to 2-1 in the match.
Columbia College came out in the fourth set and took an early 5-2 lead. Viterbo bounced back and went on a 6-1 run to take an 8-6 lead in the game. Despite being down, the Cougars were able to keep their composure and responded with a 9-0 run of their own to take a 15-8 lead midway through the set. Columbia College played tough defense as the set progressed and were able to end the game on a 10-4 run to take the fourth set by a final score of 25-12 and solidify their spot in the NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championship Game.
Maria Sandoval led the way for Columbia as she finished with a match high 14 kills in the contest. To go along with Sandoval, Kiersten Anderson added 10 kills, Manuela Vargas finished with a match high 44 assists, and Thais Andrade finished with a team high 14 digs to round out the top performers for Columbia.
With the win this morning, the Cougars have advanced to the 2018 NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championship Game for the tenth time in the programs history. Columbia College will take on Park (Mo.) University at 7 p.m. tonight in Sioux City, Iowa, as they look to win their fifth NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championship. The game will be broadcast on both ESPN3 and the NAIA Network.
To find out more about the NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championships, click here.
