LIVONIA, Mich. - The Ashford University volleyball team turned in a final regular-season tournament tune-up before going back into Midwest Collegiate Conference play and the postseason, sweeping Rochester College, 3-0, and falling against sixth-ranked Columbia College (Mo.), 0-3, on Saturday.
The Saints (27-15, 3-3 MCC) were coming off a performance on Friday that resulted in a win against University of Michigan-Dearborn and a defeat against No. 22 and tourney host, Madonna University.
"I thought we played very well this weekend in prolonged stretches," AU Head Coach Micah Cewe said. "We went up against some of the best teams in the country and were able to hang tough until the final point. With two big matches coming up against Viterbo and Waldorf, it's critical that we play our best in this final stretch of the season."
Senior Kelsay McCausland of Camanche led a strong offensive attack against Rochester in Saturday's opener, finishing up with a team-high 10 kills. She also had a solo block and assisted five others, helping force Rochester hit into 20 errors.
Junior Kendra King of Morrison, Ill., added eight kills and three service aces while freshman Micah Wedemeier of Tripoli and Hanna Bruns of La Porte City, contributed seven kills apiece.
Setters Liz Gbur of Darien, Ill., and JoAnna Hoffman of Prospect Heights, Ill., had 16 and 15 assists, respectively.
Columbia improved their regular-season record to 28-2 at the expense of the Saints, taking the match in straight sets by scores of 25-19, 25-17, 25-10.
Columbia needed a 4-0 run to break open a close first set that was tied at 17-all. The Cougars then closed out the initial set with another 4-0 run.
AU started out in an unrecoverable 5-0 hole to open the second set, marking nine unanswered points in the Cougars' favor. The Saints trailed the rest of the way although King turned in a stellar effort with nine kills in just 12 attacking attempts.
Ashford hosts Viterbo University on Tuesday night in Kehl Arena for a 7 p.m. conference showdown. The matches will represent honoring Breast Cancer Awareness and the teams will be wearing pink in commemoration.
