Koala Volleyball falls to powerhouse CIU in AAC Opener

COLUMBIA, S.C. - The Columbia College volleyball team fell in three sets on Thursday evening in their AAC opener at nearby rival CIU falling 3-0 (25-12, 25-18, 25-7).

The first set saw the Rams hit .387 as a team with 15 kills while the Koalas played very well in the second set recording 8 kills and hitting .148 led by a team-best 6 kills on the night from senior middle Destiny Brown. Brown also hit .273 with a block.

The Koalas stayed with the bigger Rams during the second set trailing just 10-9 and 17-15 before CIU went on a run to close it out 8-3.

Senior OH Gracie Hicklin also played well putting down five kills and hitting .231 with 4 digs while fellow outside hitter Jada Gentry had 3 kills, 3 digs, and a block. Freshman libero Katie Roberts led the Koalas with 12 digs on the night while sophomore setter Debra Shephard totaled 13 assists and 3 digs. DS Amanda Velez also added 5 digs.

The defending AAC Champion Rams move to 11-1 overall while the Koalas fall to 1-6. Columbia will return home Saturday to host Reinhardt University at 11:00 AM.