Columbia Spoils Brenau's 4-0 Streak

GAINESVILLE, Ga - The undefeated Golden Tigers were handed their first defeat of the season by Columbia College. As Brenau fell to a record of 4-1, the Fighting Koalas advanced to a 7-3 overall record. The tension was high as the match resulted in the scores 23-25, 17-25, 25-21, and 18-25.

At the start of the first set, the Golden Tigers jumped out quickly with a lead. Columbia trailed behind them, on the score board, for the majority of the set. At the 19 point mark the Fighting Koalas managed to tie the game, and then took the lead 20-19.

Coach Meredith Franklin looked back on the match and said, "We knew this was going to be a tough match going in, Columbia has had a solid team every year we have played them. Our defense was aggressive, we just struggled to hit around their block, and produce kills."

Senior Alexis Arthur (Aiken, SC) led their offense with kills from the middle last night; she totaled 11 kills, 9 digs, and 3 blocks. Melissa Thornton (Woodstock, GA) offered 9 kills, 16 digs, and 1 service ace to the Golden Tigers.

Danelle Russell (Cartersville, GA) produced big numbers from the back row, as she swiftly made 24 digs, while freshmen Lindsay Kelly (Cumming, GA) fought right alongside of her. Kelly earned 11 digs for the night.

Mekenna Cipres (Murietta, CA) had another big game as she totaled 6 kills, along with 18 assists, 1 service ace, 13 digs, and a single block. Kerry Abernathy (Celebration, FL) put away 3 kills, while collecting 17 assists, and 4 digs.

"During the intermission, between the second and third set, we were able to get refocused and get back our intensity. You could tell the girls had fire in their eyes, when we stepped out onto the court for the third setand we won it", added Coach Franklin.

The Golden Tigers soon lost that intensity though, as the Fighting Koalas came back stronger than ever. "Our opponents adjusted quickly to our form of offense and defense, and we were hesitant to adjust to theirs. We knew what they were doing and when, we just did not follow through with our game plan", Franklin went on to say.

The volleyball team will travel to Limestone College, in Gaffney, South Carolina on Friday. They will compete against Fort Valley State, in their first match at the Limestone Classic, at 12pm.