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By: Stephen Williams

COLUMBUS – The Columbus State University volleyball team dropped a tight 3-2 (25-22, 22-25, 25-23, 18-25, 15-11) decision on Saturday afternoon against Georgia College. The Peach Belt Conference match was played inside the Lumpkin Center.
 
Zoemy Barreto Pereira had a season-best 17 kills to lead all players on Saturday. The junior added 20 digs for her second double-double of the season. Megan Frame (13) and Mary McCarty (12) each finished in double figures in kills, while Caytlin Merritt had a match-high 31 digs.
 
"For the second straight day, we won most of the statistical categories," head coach Casey Cornett said. "However, we keep making too many errors and it cost us again today."
 
Like the entire match was, the opening set was tightly contested. Columbus State took its first lead behind a 5-1 run capped off by Kylie Beaubien's ace that made it 12-11. After a GC point, CSU ran off five straight with four kills from four different players to jump in front 17-12.
 
Georgia College (6-2, 1-1 PBC) came charging back though, getting within one at 18-17 and using a four-point spurt to take the lead back at 21-20. Beaubien tied the opening set at 21, but the Bobcats ran off four of the next five points to take the 1-0 lead.
 
The second set saw much of the same with the lead getting no wider than two for either team as the set moved to a 15-all tie. Sabrina Rodgers racked up an ace to give CSU the lead before Georgia College answered back with three straight points. The seesawing continued as the Lady Cougars ran off seven in a row including a pair of aces from Barreto Pereira.
 
GC got back within two at 24-22, but a Bobcat service error gave Columbus State the set and tied the match at one-all.
 
Columbus State (6-3, 0-2) appeared to be on its way to a third set victory, leading 22-19 late in the game. However, Georgia College reeled off four straight to edge in front by a point. An error tied the game at 23, but the Bobcats grabbed the next two points and stole the momentum back.
 
Needing a win to stay alive in the fourth, CSU took control with the game tied at 12. A 6-2 run stretch the lead out to four and it would continue to grow from there. Back-to-back kills from Frame moved the lead out to six and Abby King later put one away to send the match to the fifth and final set.
 
The fifth set opened with a series of runs. Georgia College took the first three points of the set before the Lady Cougars responded with three straight of their own. The next run belonged to the Bobcats as they put together eight of the next nine points to open up an 11-4 edge.
 
GC doubled up the Lady Cougars as 14-7 before CSU made its final charge. Columbus State tallied the next four points to pull within three, but the Bobcats wrapped it up for the victory.
 
Columbus State will wrap up its three-match homestand with a non-conference contest against Albany State on Tuesday night. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m.