COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Columbia College volleyball team (31-7, 17-1 AMC) enters the American Midwest Conference (AMC) Volleyball Tournament as the No. 1 seed. The Cougars will play for the conference title on their home court this weekend at the Arena of Southwell Complex. Columbia finished the regular season tied with Crowley's Ridge atop the standings at 17-1. The Cougars earned the top seed through the tiebreaker, which also gave them the AMC regular season champion bid to the NAIA National Championship.
Columbia opens against No. 8 seed Central Baptist (7-24, 4-14 AMC) in the first quarterfinal at 10 a.m. Friday. The Cougars swept the Mustangs in both regular-season meetings, on Oct. 15 and Oct. 31. A win sends Columbia to a 4:30 p.m. semifinal Friday against the winner of No. 4 Stephens and No. 5 Hannibal-LaGrange. The Cougars swept both of those teams twice during the regular season. The championship match is set for noon Saturday.
The Cougars are the defending tournament champions and are chasing their 26th AMC tournament title. Last November in Chesterfield, Mo., Columbia swept Stephens 25-22, 25-17, 25-19 in the final for its 25th tournament crown. That was the 20th time the program won both the regular season and tournament titles in the same season. The win also sent Columbia to the national championship for the 31st time.
Columbia was picked to win the league in the preseason coaches' poll and played like it. The Cougars won their first 11 AMC matches, including a sweep at Crowley's Ridge on Sept. 15. Their only league loss came in the rematch with the Pioneers on Oct. 24 in Springfield, Mo. Columbia answered by winning its final six regular-season matches, all in straight sets, and closed with a 25-17, 25-18, 25-16 sweep at Cottey on Nov. 5. The Cougars swept all 17 of their AMC wins and went 51-3 in conference sets.
The Cougars also played a demanding non-conference schedule. That slate included matches against Indiana Wesleyan and Concordia (Neb.), both ranked No. 3 at the time, No. 5 McPherson and No. 24 Viterbo. Columbia beat Cumberland (Tenn.) twice, including a sweep on Aug. 22 when the Phoenix were receiving votes in the national poll. The second win came in five sets on Oct. 10. The Cougars also beat St. Ambrose twice and picked up road wins at Lindsey Wilson and over Campbellsville.
Columbia is hitting .230 on the season and holding opponents to a .099 hitting percentage. The Cougars average 12.6 kills, 2.3 blocks and 2.0 aces per set. They have outblocked opponents 279-197 and out-aced them 247-169.
Viola Giangreco leads the attack with 305 kills (2.46 per set) on .277 hitting. Isabella Kincaid adds 278 kills, Rowan Carr has 246 kills and Samira Baltazar has 215 kills. At the net, Alayna Backes leads the team with 130 blocks (1.10 per set) while hitting .293. Kenedi Canty, last year's Tournament Most Valuable Player, has 109 blocks. Hannah Vogt has 677 assists (5.50 per set) and a team-high 78 aces, and Alexa Olson has added 592 assists.
Taylor Johnson leads the back row with 611 digs (4.93 per set) and adds 54 aces. Kincaid has 358 digs and Carr has 325.
Tournament Schedule
Quarterfinals - Friday, Nov. 13
- Match 1: No. 1 Columbia vs. No. 8 Central Baptist – 10 a.m.
- Match 2: No. 4 Stephens vs. No. 5 Hannibal-LaGrange – 10 a.m.
- Match 3: No. 3 Williams Baptist vs. No. 6 Cottey – 1 p.m.
- Match 4: No. 2 Crowley's Ridge vs. No. 7 Mission – 1 p.m.
Semifinals - Friday, Nov. 13
- Match 5: Match 1 winner vs. Match 2 winner – 4:30 p.m.
- Match 6: Match 3 winner vs. Match 4 winner – 7:30 p.m.
Championship - Saturday, Nov. 14
- Match 7: Semifinal winners – Noon
