Volleyball claims AMC Tournament title over Park
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Columbia, Mo. - The third-ranked Columbia College volleyball team defeated Park (Mo.) University 3-0 on Saturday afternoon in the American Midwest Conference (AMC) Tournament Championship Match. The Cougars earned the straight-set victory by scores of 25-21, 25-15 and 25-22. Columbia improves to 37-1 on the year with the victory, marking their sixth conference tournament title in the past seven seasons. The Pirates drop to 27-11 and will await the release of the NAIA National Tournament qualifiers to see if their season will continue.
Park was able to jump out to an 11-8 lead to begin the first set. The Cougars would respond with a 7-1 to run to take a 15-12 advantage. The Pirates evened the score at 15, before Columbia would take six of the next seven points for a 21-16 lead. The Cougars held off a late rally for a 25-21 opening set victory.
Columbia would carry the momentum into the second set, opening up a 12-1 lead at the start and cruising to a 25-15 win with a 0.462 hitting percentage while forcing the Pirates into 10 hitting errors.
The third set saw a back-and-forth battle between the two squads, with the Cougars using a late run to pull away and clinch the match with a 25-22 victory.
Junior Kahoriz Feliz led Columbia on the day with 16 kills. Carol Berger posted eight kills to go along with seven kills each from Trinity Ojo and Brooke Simpson. Setter Paula Ferreira led all players with 32 assists and Aleah Hayes added a match-high 16 digs.
The Pirates were led by Lauren Purdy with 13 kills and Kat Partridge with 28 assists.
Following today’s match, AMC postseason awards were handed out to the league’s players and coaches. The Cougars landed four players on the honorable mention squad, including Carol Berger, Kelly Corkum, Aleah Hayes, and Trinity Ojo. Elena Berroteran, Kahoriz Feliz, Paula Ferreira, and Brooke Simpson all received first team honors. Berroteran took home the league’s Libero of the Year award, while Ferreira was named the AMC Player and Setter of the year for the third straight season. Head Coach Melinda Wrye-Washington claimed Coach of the Year Honors as well.
As AMC Champions, Columbia earns an automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament in Sioux City, Iowa. With a No. 3 ranking in the last poll, the Cougars will most likely receive a bye in the opening round and advance to the final site to begin play on Tuesday, November 28th.
