COLUMBUS - The Columbus High School volleyball team defeated Rice High School in an area match September 24 at the Marley Giddens Center by three sets with a final score of 25-14, 25-4, 25-3. Columbus dominated for the entire match and even cleaned up some mistakes in the first set to win even more handledly. “They definitely came out strong,” said Columbus head volleyball coach Kayley Johns.
“Even in the first set, came out strong. Earning points. We made a few more mistakes than we would’ve liked in the first set, but then I think that they reset. We talked a little bit about we weren’t playing at a high level. In the second and third set, they definitely started picking up play. We had some girls serve a lot of points in a row. That’s huge for us.”
Columbus senior libero Mary Fitzgerald had multiple aces in the second set and was effective on offense and defense for the entire match.
“I think defensively, it’s just reading the court very well,” Fitzgerald said. “Trusting the block and the people passing beside me. Offensively, I mainly contribute either with assists or with reading the court and then telling the hitters where to swing. Then we racked up a couple aces against Rice tonight, so it was a good win.”
Rice will head back to the drawing board and make some adjustments going forward.
“This is the first time we’ve seen Columbus this season,” said Rice head volleyball coach Morgan Hunter. “We knew just from all the things online that they’re highly ranked. I think that they showed why today. They’re very consistent. I think that they run a very quick, spread out offense. That, plus us struggling to pass and serve-receive just broke us down.”
Columbus took a 6-1 lead in the first set after an ace, then kept a similar lead at 15-9 after another ace with a bunch of kills and a few tip balls included.
The Lady Cardinals kept this same kind of pace for the rest of the set and stretched their lead a little more with kills, a couple mistakes from Rice, a tip ball from sophomore Lucy Schobel, and a final kill to win the set 25-14.
Columbus scored the first 13 points in a row in the second set on more kills and four aces from Fitzgerald. Rice only scored four points in this set on two serves in the net from Columbus and two kills.
The Lady Cardinals gained their points on a bunch of mistakes from the Lady Raiders, a few aces, a few tip balls, some kills mixed in, and a final kill to win the set 25-4.
The third set was basically identical to the second as Columbus held Rice to even less points than the second set. Rice only scored three points in this set on a mishit from Columbus, a tip ball by senior Gourni Flowers, and a kill from senior Blessin Adams.
After the kill from Adams, the Lady Cardinals scored the rest of the points on tons of kills, three balls out of bounds from Rice, and five aces with the final point being an ace to win the set and match 25-3.
Columbus middle blocker Logan Glueck, 11, attempts to put a tip ball over Rice’s Gourni Flowers, 7, and Faith Thompson, 8. Banner Press photo by Brian Pierson
