SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Columbia College volleyball team (26-7, 12-1 AMC) split Saturday at the Mission University Pod, falling to Crowley's Ridge (23-8, 13-1 AMC) 26-24, 25-22, 30-28 before sweeping Mission (9-20, 5-7 AMC) 25-15, 25-22, 25-17.
The Cougars will continue conference play on Tuesday, Oct. 27 at 6:00 p.m. against the Stephens Stars at Stephens College.
Columbia hit .208 on the day, with 81 kills against 37 errors. The Cougars held their two opponents to a combined .144.
CROWLEY'S RIDGE 3, COLUMBIA 0 (26-24, 25-22, 30-28)
The first set featured 12 ties and seven lead changes. Columbia hit .280 and led 14-10 before Crowley's Ridge ran off four straight points, three of them on Mallory Hollis's serve, to tie it at 14. The Cougars rallied from a 24-22 deficit to tie it at 24, but Crowley's Ridge scored the final two points to take the set.
Taylor Johnson served three straight points, including an ace, to cap a 4-0 run and give Columbia an 8-4 lead in the second set. Crowley's Ridge answered with an 8-0 run, with Maddie Burris serving seven of the points, to go up 12-8. Back-to-back Alyssa Dirden aces pushed the lead to 20-14. Columbia cut it to 21-19 on a 4-0 run, with Johnson serving three of the points, but Crowley's Ridge closed out the set 25-22.
The third set went to extra points, with 14 ties and six lead changes. Columbia scored four straight from a 2-2 tie to lead 6-2 and later led 17-13. Crowley's Ridge answered with a 5-0 run, four of the points on Jesalyn Carpino's serve, to take an 18-17 lead. The teams were tied at every score from 24-24 through 28-28 before a Shania Hodges kill put Crowley's Ridge up 29-28. Amiyah Saxton then blocked an Isabella Kincaid attack to end the match.
Columbia hit .140 with 37 kills and 21 errors. Alayna Backes led Columbia with eight kills on .357 hitting, and Viola Giangreco added seven. Kenedi Canty had six kills on .455 hitting. Hannah Vogt finished with 18 assists and Alexa Olson had 14, while Johnson posted 15 digs and three aces. Saxton led Crowley's Ridge with 12 kills on .368 hitting.
COLUMBIA 3, MISSION 0 (25-15, 25-22, 25-17)
Columbia hit .333 in the first set. Trailing 5-2, the Cougars scored four straight points, including a Vogt ace, to take a 6-5 lead. After Mission tied it at six, Rowan Carr served four straight points in a 5-0 run for an 11-6 lead, and Columbia closed it out 25-15.
Johnson served three straight points to build a 7-2 lead in the second set, and a 3-0 run later made it 10-3. Mission cut it to 12-9 with four straight points, three on Abbi Street's serve. Columbia led 24-18 before Mission ran off four straight to get within 24-22, but a Kincaid kill ended the set.
Mission opened the third set with a 4-0 run, but Columbia answered with five straight points, four of them on Kincaid's serve, to take a 5-4 lead. Addison Burroughs served three straight points to turn an 11-9 lead into 14-9, and Columbia hit .357 in the set. A Samira Baltazar kill off a Vogt set ended the match.
The Cougars hit .286 for the match and held Mission to .062. Giangreco led the attack with 15 kills on .355 hitting. Carr added eight kills and a match-high 19 digs, and Baltazar had six kills on .308 hitting. Canty also had six kills, and Backes hit .429 with three kills and two blocks. Olson finished with 21 assists, and Vogt had 11.
- Kills: Viola Giangreco (15), Rowan Carr (8), Samira Baltazar (6), Kenedi Canty (6)
- Assists: Alexa Olson (21), Hannah Vogt (11)
- Digs: Rowan Carr (19), Taylor Johnson (9), Isabella Kincaid (8)
- Blocks: Alayna Backes (2 solo), Isabella Kincaid (1 solo), Viola Giangreco (1 solo), Kenedi Canty (1 solo)
- Aces: Alexa Olson (1), Hannah Vogt (1)
