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Box Score 2 Hastings, Neb. – The third ranked Columbia College volleyball team was back in action today when they traveled to Hastings, Nebraska, to compete in the 2018 Five Points Bank Invitational hosted by Hastings (Neb.) College. The Cougars played two games on the day and were able to win both as they defeated the MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) University Pioneers in three straight sets (29-27, 25-16, 25-18) and the 11th ranked Hastings (Neb.) College Broncos in three straight sets (25-18, 27-25, 36-34). With the two wins, the Cougars improved to 7-1 on the season.
The Cougars came out in the first set against the Pioneers and were able to jump out to an early 10-4 lead before forcing MidAmerica Nazarene to call a timeout. Following the timeout, the Pioneers picked up their play and were able to cut the Columbia lead to 13-10 midway through the set before tying the game at 16 apiece. Both sides exchanged points over the next few serves as neither side was able to gain an advantage but with the score tied 27 late in the game the Cougars were able to pick up the final two points to take the set by a final score of 29-27 and a 1-0 lead in the match.
The second set started similar to the first as Columbia College was able to jump out to an early 5-2 lead. The Pioneers quickly battled back and were able to tie the set at seven before a 5-1 run from Columbia propelled them to a 12-8 advantage. MidAmerica Nazarene once again made a run to get back into the game but the Cougars were able to end the set on an 8-3 run to take the second game by a final score of 25-16 and 2-0 lead in the match.
The third set started off neck-and-neck as neither side was able to gain an advantage early. With the score tied at 10, the Pioneers were able to go on a 5-2 run and held a 15-12 lead midway through the game. However, the Cougars battled back and were able to tie the game at 15 before going on a 6-1 run to take a 21-16 lead late in the game. MidAmerica Nazarene did their best to get back into the contest but were unable to cut into the lead as Columbia College closed them out down the stretch to take the third set by a final score of 25-18 to solidify the three game sweep.
Caroline Clifford led the way for the Cougars in this one as she finished with a match high 14 kills and team high 16 digs. In addition to Clifford, Pamela Jaime finished with 13 kills, Thais Andrade finished with 12 digs, and Manuela Vargas finished with a match high 37 assists.
In Columbia's second match of the day against Hastings (Neb.) College, the Cougars came out and got off to a slow start as the Broncos jumped out to an early 10-4 lead. However, their lead did not last long as Columbia went on a 9-0 run to take a 13-10 lead in the set. The Bronco's battled back and were able to tie the game at 15 but a 10-3 run from the Cougars to end the game solidified the 25-18 win to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
The second set started similar to the first as Hastings jumped out to an early 7-4 lead. The Cougars were able to score the next three points to tie the set at seven and the score remained close for most of the game. With the score tied at 13, the Broncos went on a 5-1 run to take an 18-14 lead late in the set. However, the Cougars continued to battle and were able to tie the set at 24 before scoring three of the last four points and taking the second set by a final score of 27-25 to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Columbia College was able to carry their momentum over from the second game into the third game and were able to take a quick 9-5 lead. They continued to play well as the set progressed and were able to extend their lead to 14-8 midway through the game. The Cougars held an 18-12 lead in the set but the Broncos came storming back as they went on an 11-3 run to take a 23-21 lead late in the game. However, Columbia College bounced back and were able to tie the game at 23. Both sides went back and forth down the stretch but with the score tied at 34 the Cougars were able to pick up the final two points to take the third set by a final score of 36-34.
Kiersten Anderson led the way for Columbia College in this one as she finished with a match high 18 kills. Caroline Clifford also had a great outing as she finished with her second double-double of the day collecting 16 kills and 16 digs. In addition to these two, Allison Garcia finished with 12 digs, Thais Andrade finished with 10 digs, and Manuela Vargas tallied a match high 44 assists to round out the top performers for the Cougars.
The volleyball team is back in action tomorrow, September 8th when they continue play in the 2018 Five Points Bank Invitational. The Cougars will play two games on the day including a noon start against Friends (Kan.) University and a 4 p.m. start against Peru State (Neb.) College.
