Salina, Kan. – The 12^th ranked Cougar volleyball team was back in action today when they traveled to Salina, Kansas to compete in the 2019 Kansas Wesleyan University Classic. The Cougars went 2-0 on day one as they defeated the Montana Western Bulldogs 3-0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-22) and the Dakota State University Trojans 3-2 (25-22, 21-25, 25-12, 23-25, 15-10). Columbia moves to 9-2 on the season.

Columbia had a great start to the day as they took care of business against Montana Western, coming up with 47 kills for a hitting percentage of 0.227 compared to the Bulldogs' 19 kills and 0.047 hitting percentage. The Cougars final set against the Bulldogs was their best as they came up with 16 kills and limited themselves to six hitting errors for a hitting percentage of 0.286.
 
Columbia was led by Sidney Branson who tallied 16 hits and Luisa Ferreira who had 11 digs and 37 assists.
 
Game two against the Trojans was a close one for the Cougars as Dakota State's defense was on point, tallying up 13 total team blocks and 80 digs compared to Columbia's 10 team blocks and 65 digs. The Cougar offense put pressure on the Trojans for a final hitting percentage of 0.127 which dominated Dakota State's 0.057 hitting percentage to secure their win against the Trojans.
 
The Cougars were led by Branson who racked up 18 kills and 10 digs. Additionally, Kiersten Anderson added 13 kills and 13 digs, Aaliyah Durant had 10 kills, Shelby Meyer tallied 18 digs, and Ferreira dished out 48 assists.
 
Columbia returns to the court on Saturday, September 14 for day two of the 2019 Kansas Wesleyan University Classic. The Cougars will play against the host, Kansas Wesleyan University at 9:00 a.m.