Koalas Pick Up First AAC Conference Win of the Season

Pictured: Brianna King had 10 kills to lead the Koalas (Photo Courtesy of Scott Miles Photography)

Columbia, SC (Oct. 26) – The Columbia College (SC) volleyball team picked up its second win in three games, defeating Truett McConnell 3-1 in an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) matchup.  The win was the first conference win of the season for the Koalas.

The match was back-and-forth through the duration, with neither team winning a set by more than three points. 

Columbia College (3-20, 1-17 AAC) jumped out to a commanding two-set lead, 25-22 and 25-23, before Truett McConnell's (10-19, 6-11 AAC) offense came to life.

The Bears put down 14 kills and four aces en route to winning the third set 25-22.

Truett McConnell appeared to be on its way to tying the match, as they opened set three with a 5-2 run.  Columbia College quickly closed the gap, scoring three straight points to even the score at 5-5.

The teams began to exchange points again, with neither the Bears taking a three-point advantage mid-way through the set (17-14).  The Koalas' offense remained poised, using another three-point run to even the score at 17-all.

From that point, the teams exchanged the lead, with Columbia College scoring the final two points to take the set 26-24 and the match 3-1.

Senior Brianna King was the only Columbia College player to record double-digit kills with 10. Sophomore Nya Grey had seven kills, and first-year player Destiny Brown put down four kills with a game-high 13 total blocks (4 solo-9 assists) for the Koalas in the victory.

Truett McConnell was led by Jordan Roberts, with 12 kills.  The Bears had four players record double-digit kills as Katie Williamson had 11, and Sonya Silecky and Ranavia Neal had 10 each.

Columbia College will travel to Augusta, Ga. to face Paine (Oct. 28) before closing out its regular season this Saturday, Oct. 30, when they host Bluefield University at 11 am and Kentucky Christian University at 5 pm.

Game Note: Columbia College finished the game with a season-high 33 blocks (5 solo-28 assists).