Lions Fall In Straight Sets to Columbus State

COLUMBUS, GA. – The Mars Hill volleyball team dropped a straight-set affair to Columbus State on day one of the Hughston Clinic Invite hosted by the Cougars. The Lions could not get anything going offensively, dropping by scores of 18-25, 24-26, and 20-25.

Mary Kate Griffin paced the Blue and Gold with six kills while Sara Fahrenbrook and Andie Russell dished out nine and seven assists, respectively. Victoria Kaiser anchored the defense with a game-high 19 digs and Lauren Hochstetler provided four service aces.

Mars Hill jumped out to an early lead in set one, collecting seven of the first ten points, but a 10-3 run by the home team swung the momentum into the other court. Columbus State never relinquished the lead in the set, finishing it off after a kill by Abby King.

CSU was the aggressor in the second frame, quickly racing out to a 10-2 lead. With their collective backs against the wall Mars Hill mounted a comeback, eventually taking the lead 24-23 after a kill from Rebecca Butler. However, the Cougars garnered the next three points to take a commanding 2-0 match lead.

Set number three was a back-and-forth affair to start as the two teams traded the initial 12 points. With the score knotted at 6-6, Columbus State used a mini 3-0 spurt to gain a little breathing room at 9-6. A 5-2 run by the Lions once again deadlocked the match, this time at 11-all. The Cougars used one last run of 6-2 to take a 17-13 lead, one in which was sufficient, closing out the set and match with a final score of 25-20.

Mary McCarty of CSU led all players with nine kills while Abby King dished out 28 assists for the Cougars.

It will be a quick turnaround for the Hill as they continue into day two of the invite tomorrow morning, facing off against Armstrong State at 10 a.m. before closing out the weekend with Emmanuel at 2:30 p.m.