St. Louis, Mo. – Playing in their first two matches since November, the Columbia College volleyball team went 0-2 at the Spartan Invitational, hosted by Missouri Baptist in St. Louis, Mo.

The Cougars are now 10-5 on the season.
 
GAME 1: (5) MISSOURI BAPTIST DEF. (25) COLUMBIA, 3-0
Set 1: Missouri Baptist 25 | Columbia 13
The first set was all Missouri Baptist, as they jumped out to a 18-4 lead, including 11-straight points.

Set 2: Missouri Baptist 25 | Columbia 19
The beginning of the second set back even, as Missouri Baptist held a slim 6-5 lead. The Spartans went on a 6-1 run and took control of the set.  

Set 3: Missouri Baptist 25 | Columbia 18
In the third set the Cougars jumped out to an 11-6 lead. Trailing 15-12, the Spartans scored 11 of 13 points.

LEADERS
DIGS: Olivia Skipworth (CC) – 16
ASSISTS: Manuela Vargas (MBU) – 36
KILLS: Giovanna Tapigliani (MBU) – 9
ACES: Four with 1
BLOCKS: Isidora Sotjovic/Raylyn Dodd (MBU) - 3


GAME 2: (12) Bellevue (Neb.) def. (25) Columbia, 3-1
Set 1: Bellevue 25 | Columbia 21
Columbia lead 7-6 early in the first set, but the Bruins went on a 7-3 run to take the 13-10 advantage. Bellevue was leading 19-13, when Columbia tallied eight of the next 11 points to get within one-point (22-21), but the Bruins scored the final three points to win the set.

Set 2: Columbia 26 | Bellevue 24
In the most competitive set of the match, Columbia lead 15-11 before Bellevue went on a 5-2 run to trail 17-16. After the Bruins tied the set at 20-20, Columbia scored four-straight to take the commanding 24-20 lead. With set point for the Cougars, Bellevue ran off four-straight points, but Columbia won the final two-points to take the set.

Set 3: Bellevue 25 | Columbia 14
Bellevue held an advantage of 9-8, before rattling off nine-straight points to extend their lead to 18-9. The two teams would trade points for the rest of the set.

Set 4: Bellevue 25 | Columbia 19
The Cougars came out strong in set four, taking an 11-6 lead. Much like the rest of the match, the Bruins had an answer and tied the set at 18 apiece. Bellevue went on to score seven-of-the-last-eight points to take the match.

LEADERS
DIGS: Eve Fountain (Bellevue) - 15
ASSISTS: Olivia Galas (Bellevue) - 46
KILLS: Sierra Athen (Bellevue) – 15
ACES: Eve Fountain (Bellevue) – 6
BLOCKS: Sienna Black (Bellevue) - 5
 
 
UP NEXT... 
The Cougars will host a tri-match on Tuesday, Feb. 23 with William Penn (Iowa) and William Woods (Mo.). First serve is set for 4:00 PM.