Like Columbus State Athletics on Facebook!
Tweet #GoCSU

By: Josh Fuller

MONTEVALLO, Ala. – The Columbus State University volleyball team played one of its most dominating matches of the year Tuesday sweeping Peach Belt Conference rival Montevallo 3-0 (25-14, 25-15, 25-23) at TrustMark Arena.
 
Senior Mary McCarty had another great match for the Lady Cougars slamming down 12 kills while hitting .333. Zoemy Barreto Pereira also chipped in 10 kills. Abby King recorded a double-double with 31 assists to go along with a season high 14 digs.  
 
As a team, CSU hit .237 while collecting eight aces.
 
"This was a great match that we played," said CSU head coach Casey Cornett. "We just got back from a long road trip and to play another match in a hostile environment just days later isn't easy. The girls responded as perfectly as I could have imagined."
 
Columbus State (9-4, 2-3 PBC) dominated the first two sets. After UM hung around early in set one, CSU built up a 10-5 advantage by winning four straight points.
 
Up 15-10, the Lady Cougars put the set away after a kill by McCarty started another four-point run that extended the lead to 19-10. Montevallo pulled closer before CSU sealed the set by winning the final five points to take the set 25-14.
 
The Lady Cougars never trailed in set two, going ahead 5-2. The lead was still at three (9-6) before Megan Frame and Kylie Beaubien collected back-to-back kills to help extend the advantage.
 
Similar to set one, Columbus State closed the second set strong. Up 19-14, CSU won six of the final seven points to take the set 25-15. McCarty had three kills in the run while CSU added two more service aces.
 
Montevallo (8-6, 2-3) battled in set three to try to extend the match. The two sides exchanged leads a few times early on until CSU went up three (8-5) on a Barreto Pereira ace. However, the Falcons battled back, eventually taking a 12-11 lead.
 
From there, it was a back-and-forth affair as the sides exchanged the lead four times. Down 19-18, a kill from Beaubien jump started a 4-1 run that pushed the Lady Cougars in front 22-20.
 
Montevallo made it 24-23, but McCarty slammed home her final kill to cap off the sweep.
 
Columbus State will return home for a pair of PBC matches. First, the Lady Cougars will host Flagler on Friday, September 30 at 7 p.m.