NEW BRITAIN, Conn. — Columbia volleyball (1-2), battling to the end in each set, dropped two matches in straight sets to end its weekend at the Central Connecticut State Invitational, falling to Binghamton (5-1) and CCSU (3-3) on Saturday.
 
Columbia dropped its match to Binghamton, 23-25, 25-27, 20-25 and fell to CCSU, 25-27, 22-25, 19-25.

"I think we had a lot of growth this weekend and I'm proud of our players," said head coach Patric Santiago. "Most growth doesn't happen when you're comfortable and things are easy. I think that we put ourselves in some difficult spots and continued to fight. We look forward to getting back in the gym to continue to grow."

Ending the weekend with 33 kills, Pierce Woodall led the way offensively for the Lions collecting 26 kills over Saturday's matches, crushing 18 against Binghamton alone. She was set by Ruby van der Heide's 67 total assists over the weekend, collecting 42 assists during Columbia's doubleheader.
 
The Lions did make statements on the defensive front, recording nine blocks against CCSU and five against Binghamton to bring their total to 20 on the weekend. Columbia also did a solid job of controlling their opponents holding all three teams faced to .138 hitting and they out dug all three 136-111.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: After dropping the opening set to Binghamton, the Lions came out in the second set looking to stay with the Bearcats. The score was tied, after knotting up at 20-20, six more times before Binghamton earned the final two points to take a two-set lead.
 
But the Lions fought to the end of the second set, getting kills from Woodall, Juliana Williamson and a score-tying block by Harper Justema and van der Heide. Columbia could not bring any momentum gained from the second set into the third, getting as close as 18-20 on a Woodall kill, but Binghamton's lead was too much for Columbia to overcome and the Bearcats locked up a 25-20 third set win and the straight set victory.
 
Later in the evening, Columbia met with hosting CCSU and right away CCSU started to pull away and at 24-17 it looked like CCSU would easily take the first set.  That's when Columbia caught fire, fighting off the next six set points to tie things up at 24-24. The Lions would survive one more set point, but they would run out of steam, giving CCSU a 27-25 first set win.
 
Showing zero quit, Columbia battled to the end of the second set, tying the score at 20-20 to force CCSU to pick up their game once again. CCSU scored three straight to make it 23-20, but a pair of kills from Saj McBurrows kept Columbia in the set, surviving a set point at 24-21. But again, CCSU had enough at the finish, taking the second set 25-22 to pull ahead by two sets.
 
An early stretch in the third period gave CCSU a cushion, and the Blue Devils rode that lead to a 25-19 third-set win. The final set win finished up a straight-set win over the Lions to end Columbia's weekend.
 
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