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By: Stephen Williams

COLUMBUS – Despite holding the match edge in kills, digs and blocks, the Columbus State University volleyball team dropped a 3-1 (25-14, 27-25, 20-25, 25-23) decision against Georgia College on Tuesday night. The Peach Belt Conference match was played inside the Lumpkin Center.
 
Freshman Savannah Miller set a career-high in kills for the fourth straight match, tallying 12 on the night to tie for the game high. Megan Frame matched her teammate with 12 kills, while adding five blocks. Cori Ehmen set a new season high with 39 assists to go alongside 10 digs. Caytlin Merritt reached 20 digs for the first time on the season to lead the defense.
 
"I was really pleased with the way we played in the last two sets," said head coach Casey Cornett. "I thought the girls showed a lot of intensity and fight and had we played like that from the start, I think the match would have gone differently.
 
"We have a tough weekend coming up, but there's definitely a lot for us to build on from tonight."
 
The match started positively for Columbus State (2-14, 0-6) with the Lady Cougars winning the first five points and forcing a Georgia College timeout. CSU tallied a pair of blocks and Andrea Skipor added an ace.
 
The lead held until the Bobcats finally tied up the set at 10-apiece. The two sides traded errors to bring the set to 11-all before the service of Georgia College (8-7, 3-4) took over.
 
The Bobcats ran off nine straight points, getting six service aces from Kayla Brockway to pull away. Columbus State could not recover from the large deficit and dropped the opening set.
 
The two sides the played nearly even over the next three sets.
 
Opposite from the opening set, it was the Bobcats that started fast in the second. After four straight GC points, the Lady Cougars answered with five of their own capped off by back-to-back blocks.
 
The two teams exchanged miniature runs before a 4-1 CSU spurt put the Lady Cougars in front at 17-16. A later kill from Frame gave Columbus State a 20-19 edge, but the Bobcats responded with four straight points to take a 23-20 lead. CSU would rally though, winning four of the next five points to tie the set at 24 and force extra points.
 
After a Lady Cougar error, Miller tied the set at 25-all with another kill. GC then recorded two straight kills though to thwart the Lady Cougar effort and take a 2-0 advantage.
 
The Lady Cougars roared out of the locker room to start set three, jumping out in front 7-1. Frame turned in two kills and a pair of blocks, while Miller had two of her own.
 
Columbus State would hold onto the lead the rest of the set, despite the Bobcats getting back within one on six different occasions. Leading 21-20, CSU picked up four straight points to wrap up the set, with Frame putting down another kill to send the match into the fourth game.
 
It was another fast start for the Lady Cougars in the fourth with CSU getting five straight points behind the serve of Skipor. The lead held until two straight points from Georgia College tied it at nine.
 
With the game even at 11, Abby King stepped up with a solo block and one of her nine kills to help key a 4-0 Lady Cougar run. Columbus State extended the lead out to five and led 20-18 late in the set.
 
Two consecutive GC points brought it level at 20 and the two teams went back and forth over the next six points to 23-all. In the end, Georgia College picked up two more kills to close out the match.
 
Columbus State is back on the court on Friday night as the Lady Cougars travel to Flagler. The match is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in St. Augustine, Fla.