Columbia High’s elevated volleyball play on defense kept it in its match at Stevenson last week, but the Bruins couldn’t match the Bulldogs’ offensive firepower and the hosts beat the Bruins, 3-2.
The Oct. 20 Trico League match marked the second time these two teams played to a 3-2 outcome, both won by Stevenson. Last week’s decision eliminated Columbia from district playoff contention.
Columbia was coming off back-to-back defeats to Trico frontrunners, Castle Rock (Oct. 13) and La Center (Oct. 18). The Bruins had made great strides this season, especially in their passing and service games. That improvement had the team in contention for one of four Trico berths into next month’s district playoffs, but they essentially needed to win at least three of four matches to get there. As such, the Bruins complete their season this week with an away match Oct. 25 at King’s Way Christian and a home match Oct. 27 against Seton Catholic.
At Stevenson, an ace by Columbia’s Jessica Polkinghorn’s capped the Bruins’ first set win, 25-15, but the Bulldogs won the second, 25-20. The third set was tied 5-5, and Columbia was within 10-9, before Stevenson ran off 15 of the next 19 points for a 25-14 win.
Back to the wall, Columbia survived a thrilling fourth set, where the Bruins staved off a late Stevenson comeback. Columbia led 9-8 and then added a cushion behind junior Josephine Beck’s consistent serving. Stevenson called a timeout at 14-8, but it wasn’t until the Bruins held a 16-8 advantage before the Bulldogs regained serve. Stevenson’s Samia Rudd put an end to Beck’s serving run with an emphatic kill down the middle of the Columbia defense.
The Bulldogs ground their way back into striking distance at 21-19. A Sonya Rubio spike gave the Bruins the serve back, but a couple of Bruin hitting errors enabled Stevenson to pull within 23-22. Shultz called a timeout to settle her team. A Juliet Perez kill shot went off a Stevenson block and to the floor leading to set point. Perez’s subsequent serve was handled cleanly, but the ensuing pass was not, and the match was tied at two sets apiece.
Stevenson led most of the 15-point tiebreaker. It was 4-4 when the Bulldogs broke to an 8-4 lead. Columbia did close to 9-7 on a Perez ace, but Stevenson’s hitters took over with three kill points to take a 14-7 lead. A service error gave Columbia the serve, but a net violation on the Bruins ended the match, 15-8.
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