Columbia, MO - The No. 7-ranked Cougars of Columbia College ended their play in the Hampton Inn Classic today with a split as they defeated MidAmerica Nazarene before dropping a close contest with No. 1-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University. 

Now 2-3 on the early season, the Cougars will next travel to Louisiana to compete in the Big Easy Blastoff as they take on three more ranked teams. 

In game one, the Cougars jumped out to a 2-0 lead after hitting .279 in frame one followed by .326 in the second.

In the third set, MidAmerica hit a match-high .333% while the Cougars hit a game-low .194%. After falling behind 22-13, the Cougars looked to gain some momentum with kills from Sude Gundogan and Allana Capella, but it was too late as the Pioneers used two kills to close out the set. 

Aubrey Kohl got things started for Columbia in the fourth set as she served the Cougars to a quick 6-1 lead. From there, the Cougars hit a game-high .394% to roll to a 25-9 fourth and final set win. 

Mariana De Carvalho's double-double paced the Cougars as she finished with 14 kills (hitting .407%) to go along with 14 digs. Sude Gundogan followed with 11 kills on a team-high hitting percentage of .526%. 

Agatha Emanuelle, Allana Capella, and Isabella Kincaid all finished with nine kills each, respectively. 

Aubrey Kohl distributed the ball well with 31 assists, as Giovanna Bicalho followed with 14 assists to go along with 12 digs. 

Defensively, the Cougars were led by Clara Gower's 14 digs, while Kincaid added eight. 

In game two, Columbia got off to a hot start against the top-ranked Wildcats as they held IWU with 13 attacking errors to earn the first set win, 25-18. 

Both teams traded points in the second set until Columbia took their second timeout of the set down 23-21. Out of the timeout, the Wildcats scored again with a service ace, but a kill from Isabella Kincaid looked to stop the momentum. A double-block from IWU sealed the second set win, 25-22. 

IWU got out to a quick 7-3 lead in the third set, forcing an early timeout from CC. Columbia looked to battle back and began to chip away at the lead, but a four-point scoring run from the Wildcats brought on Columbia's second timeout. The Cougars closed the gap at 22-19, but errors from Columbia gave the third set win to IWU, 25-20. 

The fourth set saw Indiana Wesleyan lead from start to finish as the forced Columbia to a negative hitting percentage to claim the fourth and final set, 25-16. 

For Columbia, Mariana De Carvalho registered her second double-double of the day as she finished with 10 kills and 16 digs. 

Katerina Pappa and Allana Capella followed with eight kills each, respectively. 

Aubrey Kohl led in assists with 17, while Giovanna Bicalho followed closely with 16. 

On defense, Clara Gower had a team-high 20 digs.