Volleyball Upsets No. 20 Columbia
West Palm Beach, FL – It was certainly a match to remember as the Hastings College women’s volleyball team knocked off NAIA No. 20 Columbia (MO) 25-17, 25-23, 13-25, 25-23 on Friday morning in game three of the Chick-fil-a Classic.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
17 | 23 | 25 | 23 | 1 |
|
|
25 | 25 | 13 | 25 | 3 |
Team Stats
Columbia (MO)
| Game Statistics | Columbia (MO) | Hastings |
|---|---|---|
| Hitting % | .216 | .224 |
| Blocks | 6.0 | 9.0 |
| Digs | 70 | 58 |
| Aces | 7 | 7 |
West Palm Beach, FL – It was certainly a match to remember as the Hastings College women's volleyball team knocked off NAIA No. 20 Columbia (MO) 25-17, 25-23, 13-25, 25-23 on Friday morning in game three of the Chick-fil-a Classic.
You have to go back to 2017 as the last time Hastings defeated Columbia, although these two teams did have a few interesting matches since. Back in 2018, the Cougars swept HC, but it was 25-19, 27-25 and 36-34. Hastings was on a lopsided loss at nationals that same year and then lost in straight sets in 2019 at the Columbia Labor Day Classic.
So this one was certainly a bit sweeter for the Lady Broncos and didn't take long to take control of set one.
With a 5-4 lead, Makenna Asher connected with Rachel Hefta for the kill as Hefta tooled it off the block to make it 6-4. Then Asher teamed up with Marlee Taylor on the outside for the kill followed by an attack error by Luisa Ferreira to lead 8-4.
The Cougars climbed right back into the set tying things up at 10 but HC took four of the next five points highlighted by kills from Peyton Roper and Majesta Valasek.
After the teams traded a few points, Hastings would open things up beginning with back-to-back kills from Valasek and Asher to lead 17-13. The three straight attack errors by the Cougars put the Lady Broncos comfortably in front 20-13 en route to winning set one 25-17.
Hastings went on to hit .300 in set one while Columbia struggled by hitting -.026.
Set two was a classic as the teams went back-and-forth but a late run by the Lady Broncos proved to be the difference in the all-important set two. With the Cougars leading 17-15, Hastings countered beginning with a kill from Roper followed by an attack error from Sude Gundogan.
Then Asher went back outside two times to Valasek for kills which prompted a Cougar timeout. It was the same story coming out as Asher connected again with Valasek for the kill to lead 20-17 before a service error gave a point to Columbia. HC came right back picking up a point on a service error from Raven Buckley and then Miriam Miller picked up a service ace to lead 22-18.
Columbia battled back to make it 23-22 but Asher found Hefta as she tooled it off the block to make it 24-22. Following a kill from Gwendolyn, HC picked up a double block from Taylor and Hefta to win the set 25-23 and take the critical 2-0 lead.
After Columbia dominated set three, it turned into another tight battle in set four as neither team led by more than one point until the set was tied 22-22. It was Asher finding Lemke for the kill and then Asher and Hefta teamed up for the double block setting up match point.
Ellie Rocker came back with a kill for the Cougars but Asher went back out to Lemke as she hammered home the kill and the four set victory.
Blocks were a big story for the Lady Broncos as HC finished with 18 total blocks while Columbia finished with 10. Hefta led the way in blocks with eight block assists.
Leading the way offensively was Valasek with 11 kills as she hit .225. Asher finished with seven kills while hitting .778 and also recorded 39 assists. Lemke added eight kills while hitting .294. Amani Monroe finished with seven kills while hitting .174.
Miller and Asher each finished with 16 digs to lead the team. Miller led the team with three service aces.
For the match the Lady Broncos hit .224 while Columbia hit .216.
Hastings improves to 2-1 on the year and is back in action later this morning against Cumberland (TN).
