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By: Stephen Williams

COLUMBUS – A career-high 15 kills for Andrea Skipor was not enough for the Columbus State University volleyball team, as the Lady Cougars dropped a 3-1 (22-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-14) match to Armstrong State on Saturday. The Peach Belt Conference match was played in the Lumpkin Center.
 
Skipor's total was the highest on either side, while Mary McCarty added 14 and Zoemy Barreto Pereira had 12. Barreto Pereira pitched in 11 digs for her fifth double-double of conference play. Abby King ended the day with 42 assists and 11 digs, while Catylin Merritt led the defense with 22 digs.
 
"We came out and played very well at the beginning," head coach Casey Cornett said. "We have to find a way to keep that going throughout the entire match.
 
"We will go back to work on Monday and start preparing for three more matches next week."
 
Columbus State (9-6, 2-5 PBC) came out of the gates strong, tallying the first four points of the match and eight of the first 10.

Armstrong quickly got the lead down to three, but the Lady Cougars would never relinquish the lead. Skipor registered two of the final three kills for the Lady Cougars, including the final one, and CSU grabbed the early edge.
 
In the second, the advantage belonged to Armstrong State (14-1, 4-0), as the Pirates doubled up CSU 10-5. Trailing 11-6, the Lady Cougars reeled off four straight points to get within one. Malaisia Stallworth teamed up with McCarty and King for a pair of blocks.
 
Columbus State took its first lead of the set at 18-17 following a McCarty kill. However, the Pirates answered back and looked to be evening the match up 23-20. The Lady Cougars wouldn't go away though, as Skipor and Stallworth picked up a block and Skipor followed with a kill and a solo block to tie the set at 23.
 
A pair of CSU errors wrapped up the second set and tied the match up at one.
 
The Lady Cougars found themselves down 18-14 in the third set, before charging back once again. Skipor keyed another CSU run, this time a 5-1 spurt, to tie the set at 19. However, the Pirates ran off five straight points and quickly took a 2-1 edge heading to the fourth.
 
The fourth set started promising for the Lady Cougars with three straight kills. The tide turned though, as Armstrong scored the next nine points and never looked back. CSU would get to within four, but no closer as the Pirates cruised to the victory.
 
Columbus State concludes a three-match homestand on Tuesday night with a non-conference match against Fort Valley State. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. in the Lumpkin Center.