Like Columbus State Athletics on Facebook!
Tweet #GoCSU

By: Stephen Williams

COLUMBUS – Peach Belt Conference play begins on Friday night for the Columbus State University volleyball team as the Lady Cougars play host to Augusta. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside the Lumpkin Center.
 
The conference weekend concludes with a 2 p.m. match Saturday against Georgia College.
 
"We have had a great start to the season," head coach Casey Cornett said. "We need to use that momentum as we begin conference play and continue improving game by game."
 
Series History
 
Columbus State (6-1) owns a 4-2 mark overall against Augusta. The Lady Cougars have split with the Jaguars each of the last two seasons, with the last meeting going CSU's way with a 3-1 win last October.
 
CSU and Georgia College are 3-3 in their six matchups. The Bobcats won both matches one season ago, including a 3-1 victory in Columbus on October 6.
 
About Augusta
 
Augusta is off to a 3-2 start to the season with victories over North Greenville and Southern Wesleyan in its last two matches. The Jaguars returned seven players from last year's team that went 19-14 and finished seventh in the PBC.
 
Through five matches, sophomore Savanna Gonzales leads the way on the offensive side with 60 kills. Sophomore Blair Bolton has 55 of her own and currently ranks fourth in the league with a .369 hitting percentage.
 
Setter Sammie Baker sits in the top five in the league with 11.26 assists per set, while Kenya Stokes leads the conference in service aces per set at 0.82.
 
About Georgia College
 
A fourth-year program like the Lady Cougars, Georgia College is 5-1 in 2016. The Bobcats are riding a four-match winning streak entering the weekend and will travel to Montevallo on Friday before taking on CSU one day later.
 
Sophomore Taylor Svehla has 63 kills on the year and her .409 hitting percentage is second in the PBC. Fellow sophomore Ebony Powers ranks second on the team with 55.
 
Junior defensive specialist Chandler Ewaldsen has tallied 115 digs and is second in the league with 5.48 digs per set.
 
CSU Notes
 
The Lady Cougars have matched their best seven-game start to a season in its four-year history at 6-1 overall. The Lady Cougars dropped the first match at last weekend's Quincy Tournament before bouncing back to take the remaining three contests.
 
Senior Mary McCarty continues to lead the Lady Cougar offense with 62 kills, while three other players have at least 40. Sophomore Abby King had a career-best 46 assists in last Saturday's win over Maryville, and has a pair of double-doubles to her credit this season.
 
Senior Caytlin Merritt, the program's all-time leader in digs, continues to add more to her record with 92 through seven matches.