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By: Stephen Williams
COLUMBUS – After playing its first 13 matches away from home, the Columbus State University volleyball team returned to the Lumpkin Center on Friday night, dropping a 3-0 (25-15, 25-12, 25-21) decision against Peach Belt Conference foe Lander.
Junior Megan Frame led the Lady Cougars with 11 kills on the night, her fourth double-digit effort of the season. Cori Ehmen finished with 23 assists, seven digs and five kills, while Andrea Skipor led the defensive effort with 10 digs. Autumn Evilsizer and Caytlin Merritt tallied nine digs apiece, with Erin Valentine getting eight.
"I thought our defense played out of its mind tonight," said head coach Casey Cornett. "We still are struggling to terminate and that is really hurting us."
The first two sets played out in similar fashion for Columbus State (2-12, 0-4 PBC), as the Lady Cougars hung around early in the set before the Bearcats pulled away.
With the first set tied at five, Lander (13-3, 4-1) ran off five straight points and started to pull away. A kill from Frame broke the 5-0 run, but only momentarily as LU put together another 5-0 spurt to open up the margin.
The Lady Cougars rallied to get back within six (20-14) late in the set, but Lander wrapped it up on a CSU service error.
Columbus State got off to a strong start in set number two, getting three kills from Frame and were leading 8-7. However, it was all Bearcats the rest of the set starting with a 7-0 LU stretch and a later 8-0 run.
The most competitive set came in the final frame as the Lady Cougars used a strong stretch of their own. Down 5-3, Skipor and Frame teamed up for a block to start six straight CSU points.
Lander edged back in front at 13-12, but the back-and-forth affair was just beginning. The two sides tied the set four times before back-to-back kills from Frame gave the Lady Cougars a 20-17 edge and forced a Bearcat timeout.
The timeout proved to be beneficial though, as Lander responded with six straight points to take a 23-20 lead and ultimately wrap up the victory.
Columbus State is back in action on Saturday as the Lady Cougars host USC Aiken. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m. inside the Lumpkin Center.
