Columbia, Mo. - Columbia College volleyball overcame a mid-match surge from Culver-Stockton to claim a five-set victory (25-17, 25-15, 20-25, 22-25, 15-10) on Thursday night at Southwell Complex.

The win improves Columbia to 8-11 overall, while Culver-Stockton drops to 6-12.

Columbia held edges in several key areas, as they led Culver-Stockton in kills 60-49, posting nine service aces to eight, and leading in digs (94-84). The teams were even in blocks at six apiece.

Columbia started strong in set one, using a 6-0 run early to build a commanding lead and cruise to a 25-17 win. The Cougars maintained momentum in set two, pulling away with multiple scoring bursts for a 25-15 victory. Culver-Stockton flipped the script in set three, surging to a 19-11 advantage before holding on for 25-20. The Wildcats carried that energy into set four, jumping out 8-3 and fending off a late Cougar rally to force a decider at 25-22. In the fifth, Columbia regrouped with a 5-0 run midway through to secure the 15-10 clincher.

Mila Zoric paced the Cougars' attack with 11 kills, zero errors, on .647 hitting, along with three block assists.

Nazarena Avila matched Zoric with 11 kills and added four block assists.

Heather Bana contributed nine kills, while Isabella Kincaid and Emma Breier followed with seven kills each.

Both setters finished with double-doubles for Columbia as Hannah Vogt totaled 23 assists and 16 digs, with Alexa Olson added 24 assists and 14 digs. 

Defensively, Taylor Johnson finished with 21 digs and 10 assists for the third double-double for the Cougars.