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By: Josh Fuller

COLUMBUS – The Columbus State University women's volleyball team capped off a perfect weekend with two sweeps on Saturday. The matches were a part of the Hughston Clinic Invite hosted by CSU.
 
The Lady Cougars first defeated Converse 3-0 (25-5, 25-10, 25-14) before concluding the weekend with a sweep of Emmanuel (25-12, 25-23, 25-18).
 
"I'm so proud of the girls this weekend," said head coach Casey Cornett. "We worked really hard in the preseason and to come out and get three early wins gives the ladies confidence moving forward.
 
"We still have plenty to work on, but this was a very successful weekend. I can't wait to see how things shape out next weekend in Illinois."
 
Columbus State will participate in the Quincy Tournament next weekend in Quincy, Ill. The Lady Cougars will take on Cedarville and Quincy on Friday.
 
Match One
 
The Lady Cougars got off to a quick start against Converse, winning 18 of the first 20 points to build a commanding lead. CSU won 13 straight points during the set and eventually won the set 25-5 after a Mary McCarty kill.
 
In set two, Converse was able to hang around early, staying within three after getting a kill to make the score 7-4. However, the Lady Cougars went on another massive run, winning 10 of the next 11 points to go ahead 17-5. Ashley Smith had a great run of serves collecting three aces during the spurt.
 
CSU closed the set off with back-to-back kills from Nicole Pollzzie and Smith to win the set 25-10.
 
It was a back-and-forth start to the third set as the two teams were tied at four early on. The Lady Cougars once again flexed their muscles winning seven straight points to go ahead 11-4. CSU continued to add to the lead and eventually stretched its lead out to 19-10 after a Zoemy Barreto Pereira kill.
 
Converse was able to win a few points before the Lady Cougars closed the match out strong. CSU won five of the final six points to take the set 25-14.
 
Pereira and Smith led the Lady Cougars with seven kills apiece while Pollzzie had six. Smith added four service aces as well. Abby King had 26 assists while Caytlin Merritt had a team best 14 digs.
 
As a team, Columbus State had a .459 hitting percentage.
 
Match Two
 
Columbus State came out hot again in match two against Emmanuel winning the first five points of the match. King had two service aces during the run.
 
Emmanuel climbed back into the match inching the score to 9-5 before the Lady Cougars started to pull away. An Andrea Skipor kill started another 5-0 run that saw four different Lady Cougars collect a kill.
 
Like they did in match one, the Lady Cougars slammed the door shut late in the first set. Up 18-11, CSU won six of the final seven points to take the set 25-12. Skipor continued to have a good first set, collecting two more kills while McCarty and Kylie Beaubien each added a kill.
 
The second set was tight throughout. The two teams exchanged the lead a couple of times early before Emmanuel went up 11-8. CSU didn't panic, however, retaking the lead quickly after winning seven of the next eight points to go ahead 15-12.
 
It was Emmanuel's turn to respond as the Lions battled back and eventually retook an 18-17 lead.
 
From there, the two sides were never separated by more than two points. With the match tied 23-23, the Lady Cougars got back-to-back service aces from Sabrina Rodgers to take the set 25-23.
 
It was all Columbus State in set three as the Lady Cougars raced out to a 9-1 lead. Skipor, McCarty and Malaisia Stallworth fueled the start with a pair of kills apiece.
 
The lead eventually increased to 23-12 before Emmanuel chipped away at the lead. The Lions won six of the next seven points to pull within 24-18. However, it was too late as King slammed down the match-clinching kill for the Lady Cougars.
 
McCarty paced the Lady Cougars with 11 kills while Skipor had a nice match with eight kills and a .353 hitting percentage. King had another good match with 33 assists while Merritt (17) and Pereira (12) finished with double-digits digs.