COLUMBUS, Ga. – The Lander volleyball team won a marathon first set and held off Columbus State for a 3-1 Peach Belt Conference victory on Saturday afternoon, giving head coach Ashley Stathas her 100th victory at Lander.
Stathas, who is in her fifth season as head coach of the Bearcat program, owns a 100-62 overall record.
The Bearcats defeated the Cougars 34-32, 18-25, 25-22, 25-14. Lander improves to 20-9 on the season and 8-8 in PBC play. Columbus State falls to 14-12, (5-11).
Khiani Kelly led the offense with a team-high 17 kills, while Halle Dotson added eight. Katie Haake and Sophia Perkins each registered their second double-double of the weekend. Haake finished with 18 assists and 11 digs, whiele Perkins recorded 13 assists and 10 digs. Hannah McManus led Lander with 26 digs, while Kendall Korte finished with 19. Dotson and Reyonia Whipple each tallied four blocks at the net.
Columbus State was led by Mary McCarty (20 kills, 18 digs), Abby King (37 assists, 15 digs) and Caytlin Merritt (14 digs).
Down 24-23 in the opening set, Lander withstood six consecutive set points by the Cougars before a setting error finally gave the Bearcats a 1-0 lead. Columbus State rallied to tie the match at 1-1 and led 22-21 in the third set before a kill from Amanda Medlock and three consecutive Cougar attack errors put the Bearcats up 2-1. Lander overpowered CSU in the final set to complete an unbeaten road weekend.
The win gives Lander its third consecutive season with at least 20 victories, matching a school record for most consecutive years with 20 or more wins (2006-08).
Lander returns home on Friday, Nov. 11 at 4:30 p.m., as the Bearcats host Augusta.
