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The Columbus varsity volleyball team got to play against some difficult competition last week as they took on the Plugerville tournament. As one of just three 3A teams in the tourney, the Lady Cards played several 5A and 6A teams as they competed against some of the better teams from bigger divisions. Despite taking on some bigger schools, the Lady Cards came away with a positive record by winning five of their nine matches.
Vs Santa Fe, W, 2-0
Before Columbus took on the Plugerville tourney, they matched up against a pair of opponents in a double header to start the week. The Lady Cards gave a big performance to start the day as they took a two-game sweep over Santa Fe by scores of 25-16 and 25-12. Many players contributed to both the offense and the defense as nine different players registered a kill and ten different players came away with a dig.
Ally Tribe led the team in both kills and digs with 17 and 11 respectively. Caylie Neisner shared the team lead in digs with 11 of her own. Taylor Morrow added seven kills while Gracie Schobel and Ember Mandola added six each. They were all supported by Sage Thomas who finished with 35 setter assists as well as eight digs. Ashlyn Carter had seven digs and a team-leading two service aces.
Vs Needville, W, 3-0
The Lady Cards took another sweep against Needville after their second match of the game. After a tight first two games with scores of 25-22 and 25-19, Columbus locked in and claimed a big 25-13 victory in the final game to secure the match victory.
Caylie Neisner once again stood out defensively, picking up 17 digs to lead the team. Sophia Wolters was next in line with 12 digs, and Ally Tribe finished with 10 to go along with her 13 kills. Sage Thomas finished with 28 setter assists while also adding seven digs of her own.
Vs College Station, W, 2-1 The Plugerville tournament started off with a convincing victory for the Lady Cards as they battled to a win against a quality 5A opponent. Columbus dropped the first set against their opponents by a score of 20-25 before rebounding with two-straight wins of 25-20 to claim the match.
The Lady Cards withstood heavy pressure from the Lady Cougars as three different players finished with double-digit digs. Caylie Neisner led once again with 19 digs, followed by Sage Thomas with 13 and Ally Tribe with 10. Ashlyn Carter added eight digs of her own.
Tribe also applied some pressure to the opposing defense with 19 kills to lead the team. Thomas broke the 25-assist threshold once again with 29 setter assists in the match.
Vs Buda Johnson, W, 2-1 Columbus took on a 6A school for their next challenge but still were able to find an advantage. They secured victory in the first set in a 25-17 win before falling in game two by a 26-24 score. They bounced back with a huge win in a 25-12 final set to claim the win.
Tribe led the team on both sides of the ball with 18 digs and 13 kills. Caylie Neisner and Sage Thomas added 13 digs each while Thomas also added a tournament- high 31 setter assists.
Gracie Schobel picked up two solo blocks at the net while adding eight kills of her own. Taylor Morrow also had eight kills followed by Ember Mandola who had seven.
Vs Connally, W, 2-0
The Lady Cards got their first sweep victory of the tournament against one of the tourney’s hometown high schools. The Lady Cougars were no match for Columbus as the Lady Cards beat their opponents 25-10 in game one and 25-11 in game two.
Sage Thomas passed out 21 assists to her teammates as they had an even scoring effort across the board. Ally Tribe led the way with 11 kills to lead the team.
Vs Magnolia West, W, 2-1 Columbus picked up their fourth tournament win in a row after a big victory to start their second day of competition. They won game one by a 25-14 margin before falling in game two 25-22. The Lady Cards responded with a 25-20 win in game three to claim the match.
Sophia Wolters had a big game defensively, picking up 13 digs to lead the team in that category. Ally Tribe, Caylie Neisner and Ashlyn Carter had 11 digs, 10 digs and eight digs respectively to contribute to the defensive effort. Tribe also added 15 kills offensively while Ember Mandola pitched in eight of her own.
Sage Thomas broke the 30-assist mark again with 32 assists.
Vs Midland, L, 2-1
The Lady Cards’ first loss of the season came with a battle as they fell just short to the Lady Bulldogs. They took the advantage by a 25-19 margin in game one before falling in two straight games. Game three was a tight affair as they pushed their opponents past the 25-point mark before ultimately falling 28-26 in a match defeat.
Ally Tribe, Caylie Neisner and Sage Thomas finished with double-digit digs each with 15, 13 and 10 digs respectively. Tribe also finished with 17 kills followed by Gracie Schobel who had eight. Thomas dished out over 30 assists again with 32 in the match.
Vs San Antonio Madison, L, 2-1 Columbus suffered their first losing streak of the season with a difficult match that saw them once again take the first set by a 25-19 margin. They lost a close game two in a 25-23 loss before losing steam in the final game to take a 25-18 defeat.
Sage Thomas nearly hit 30 assists again with 29 in the match. Ally Tribe led the way on both sides with 17 kills and 10 digs. Claire Klausmeyer had three assisted blocks to share the team lead with Ember Mandola in that category.
Vs Smithson Valley, L, 2-1 The Lady Cards’ first three-match losing streak in several seasons came in convincing fashion after falling in game one by a 25-8 margin. They battled back in the second game before falling short by a 25-20 margin for the sweep defeat.
Columbus’ offensive attack was limited against 5A team as no Lady Card picked up more than three kills in the match.
Vs Cedar Ridge, W, 2-0 Columbus got back in the win column with a big victory in their penultimate tournament match. They won the first match in a double-digit, 25-13 win. Game two was much closer, but Columbus held on for the 25-23 win and the sweep victory.
Sage Thomas had 22 setter assists for the offense. The main beneficiary was Ally Tribe who finished with 10 kills to go along with her team-leading seven digs. Claire Klausmeyer picked up three assisted blocks at the net for the defense
Vs Lake Belton, L, 2-0 The Lady Cards finished their tournament run with a loss after taking a 25-21 defeat in game one and a 25-20 loss in game two to suffer the sweep.
Ally Tribe and Ashlyn Carter led things defensively for the Lady Cards with 13 and nine digs respectively. Caylie Neisner and Sophia Wolters had eight digs each for Columbus.
