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BLUEFIELD, Va. – An energetic come back in the second set pulled the Bluefield College volleyball team square with visiting Columbia College, 1-1, but the Fighting Koalas finished by claiming the final two sets by large margins en route to spoiling BC's Appalachian Athletic Conference opener Thursday evening at the Dome Gymnasium.
 
Bluefield drops to 1-6 on the season and 0-1 as it returns to the Appalachian Athletic Conference. Columbia College moves to 11-2 overall and 2-0 in AAC contests.
 
The Fighting Koalas attacked early, but Bluefield managed a late charge to pull within 20-18 and force a timeout. Bluefield was also within two at 23-21, but two straight points including an ace on the set point closed out the first, 25-21 for Columbia.
 
Bluefield fell behind once again in the second set, but after trailing by as many as six points they charged back once again to pull within one, 14-13. Late in the set, the teams went back-and-forth and had several ties, including 19-19 and 21-21. Carly Whitham served up an ace to move the score to 23-21, and Bluefield carried momentum for the set win, 25-22.
 
Bluefield attacked at its best clip of the game in the second set (.310), with 11 kills to just two errors on 29 attempts. Conversely, the Fighting Koalas had their worst attacking percentage in the second set, at just .156.
 
Head Coach Jim Butski's squad looked ready for the challenge after an energetic set, but the visitors finished strong in the final two sets and took 25-13 and 25-17 victories for the 3-1 match win.
 
Bluefield was led by Jasmine Morrow and Ellen Johnson's 12 and 10 kills, respectively. Channel Flores and Marissa Grice dished out 12 assists apiece, while Morrow, Johnson and Hannah Winter had double-digit dig totals with 20, 13 and 11, respectively.
 
The Lady Rams continue to block well at the net, tallying nine block assists and seven solo blocks on the evening.
 
Richelle Prijic led the visitors with 15 kills, followed by 12 more from Kara Anderson, as Columbia attacked at a .350 clip on the evening.
 
Bluefield is back at it Friday evening, hosting St. Andrews University in another 6:30 p.m. Appalachian Athletic Conference matchup.