Cougars Win Two on Day One of Hampton Inn Classic

Columbia, Mo. – The 14th-ranked Cougars of Columbia College picked up two big wins today on day one of the Hampton Inn Classic. After sweeping (RV) Xavier, the Cougars continued to roll as they then swept and upset the #13-ranked Tigers of Dakota Wesleyan University. 

With the two wins, Columbia moves to 4-0 on the season. They are back in action tomorrow to close out the Hampton Inn Classic with two more matches against #16 Indiana Wesleyan and (RV) John Brown University. 

Game One: #14 Columbia defeated (RV) Xavier, 3-0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-21)
The Cougar offense was firing on all cylinders as they rolled to a quick sweep over the Golden Nuggets. Columbia powered down 45 kills on a .423 team hitting percentage.

Allana Capella led the way for Columbia with 12 kills on a .333 hitting percentage. Ellie Rockers (.500 hitting percentage) and Alayna Rooks followed with nine kills each, respectively. Abby Massengill chipped in eight kills and Sude Gundogan was error free for five kills. 

Rockers led the defensive effort with nine digs, while Ana Oro and Magdalena Bostal each had seven digs. 

Luisa Ferreira finished with 41 assists. 

Game Two: #14 Columbia defeated #13 Dakota Wesleyan, 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-19)
After a delayed start, the Cougars came out ready to play still as they knocked off the Tigers in three-straight sets. Columbia lead DWU in every statistical category and controlled the tempo from start to finish. 

Alayna Rooks was dominant on offense, powering home 14 kills on a .393 hitting percentage. Ellie Rockers followed with a double-double of 12 kills and 11 digs. Abby Massengill was perfect with eight kills and zero errors. 

Luisa Ferreira also finished with a double-double of 38 assists to go along with a team-high 13 digs. 

Defensively, Rockers finished with 11 digs, while Ana Oro followed with 10 digs. At the net, Allana Capella registered five blocks and Sude Gundogan had four of her own.