Columbia holds off stingy Eutectics in three sets

The UHSP Eutectics faced a tall order on Tuesday night, playing their second consecutive match against a top-10 program as they renewed their rivalry with Columbia College.

Coming off a 4-set loss to Missouri Baptist just prior to the weekend, the Eutectics could not slow down the Cougars as Columbia prevailed, 25-15, 25-12, 25-23.

The visitors actually jumped out to an early 4-0 lead over Columbia thanks to a kill from Hanna Burch sandwiched around a trio of Cougar hitting errors. Columbia quickly found their groove as they rattled off 10 of the next 12 points to take a 10-6 lead. Macy Hendrix had a couple of kills trying to keep UHSP in the opening set, but Columbia eventually doubled up the Eutectics at 20-10 and went on to a 25-15 win.

The second set was almost a carbon copy of the opener early on as the Purple and Gold led 3-0, then 4-2. Amber Loo, Sumanpreet Kaur and Darlene Zediker all notched kills as the Eutectics were managing to keep pace with Columbia, trailing 14-10. That changed after three Cougar kills and three Eutectic hitting errors as the Cougars scored six straight to garner a 20-10 lead. Columbia went on to win 25-12.

The third set again saw the group from St. Louis take the early lead. UHSP scored their first three points on Columbia errors when Josie Barrand delivered an ace to make it 4-2 Euts. The Cougars tied it at four, but UHSP kept the pressure on. Hendrix took advantage of a bad block attempt from Columbia and registered a kill. Jenna Brinson set up Zediker for a kill and Kathryn Trickey delivered a good ball to Barrand for another kill to make the Eutectic lead three at 8-5. The Cougars scored three in a row to pull even at 8-8. That was the first tie in a stretch that saw the score tied in 9 out of next 11 possible opportunities. The final tie in that run came at 18-18. UHSP scored three straight and four of the next five points, getting a kill from Brinson and an ace from Sydney Smith in that sequence as things seemed destined for a fourth set with UHSP leading 22-19. But Columbia had other plans as the Cougars scored six of the night's final seven points to end things in after three with a 25-23 come-from-behind set win.

The Eutectics faced a heavy dose of offense from Columbia all night and did a fairly good job defensively. The Cougars had 44 kills on 99 attempts with UHSP recording 33 digs as Josie Barrand's 17 lead the way. The problem for the Eutectics was they just could not put the ball away enough times. UHSP had 22 kills on 89 attempts, but Columbia racked up 42 digs. Amber Loo's six kills paced the visitors while Ellie Rockers led all attackers with ten for the Cougars. Jenna Brinson had 17 assists for UHSP as the Eutectics fell to 1-18 overall and 1-2 in American Midwest Conference play.

The Eutectics are right back in Columbia on Thursday when they visit Stephens College before a Friday home contest with Westminster.