Volleyball Falls Short in Upset

One day after sweeping the conference series with Faulkner University, the Fighting Koalas (23-7, 7-3) fell one game short of upsetting #22 ranked Lee University (29-5, 12-0) Saturday afternoon in a tough fought match.  The top ranked team in the SSAC defeated Columbia in five sets 25-18, 26-24, 11-25 19-25, 7-15.

The excitement filled the Lucille Godbold Center Saturday when the Koalas took a two set lead against the best team in the Southern States Athletic Conference.  It looked as though the visiting Lady Flames would take the second set after quickly erasing an 11-3 deficit.  Lee looked to close out the second set when they were serving with a 24-22 lead, when the Koalas took advantage of a service error and a couple hitting errors to capture the last four points and the second set.  Lee responded with their best play of the day to take a 25-11 victory in the third set and held the momentum through the fifth set.

Coach Brian Solomon said, "We fought as hard as we could today, I am very proud of the team's effort.  Although we lost today, the way we played shows the improvement the team is making."  Sophomore Erica Allman put in a great effort while recording a match high 24 digs against the top ranked offensive team in the conference. 

Friday night's win over Faulkner University assures the team at least a third place finish in conference play.  Columbia's final conference match will be Wednesday night at the Lucille Godbold Center as they host rival Southern Wesleyan University at 6:30 pm.