The Lady Flames, who have now faced four of the nation's top five teams over the past two weeks, gave the visiting Scorpions a run for their money before falling 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-22).

Marija Zelenovic had 12 kills, 11 digs and three blocks in the loss. Paula Martins collected 10 kills and had a 37 percent hitting mark. She also had four digs and two blocks. The Scorpions held Lee leader Irene Ojukwu to only four kills. However, she did come up with nine digs. Camil Martinez added five kills, 27 assists, 10 digs and three blocks, while freshman Nicole Sumida posted eight kills, two aces, three digs and a block.

The powerful Brownsville club was paced by All-American Danica Markovic, who had 15 slams, two aces, eight digs and a block. However, it was the blocking power of Brownsville that commanded the net play. Michelle Marzues had six blocks and 10 digs to go along with her seven kills. Ana Guerra countered with six blocks and six kills.


COLUMBIA 3, LEE 1
Third-ranked Columbia College (Mo.) simply outlasted the No. 6 Lady Flames in a battle of two NAIA powers (3-1) in the Lee University Showcase on Friday afternoon.

The visitors found a way to win the first set, 28-26. The Lady Flames fought back to take set two, 25-22. Columbia won another thriller in set three, 25-23 and pulled away from a 17-17 tie in the final set to win, 25-18.

It was a war at the net as Columbia's Kahoriz had 20 kills and a 40 percent attack mark. Brooke Simpson followed with 14 slams and a .36.4 hitting percentage. Lee countered with 18 blasts and a 38 percent attack mark from Irene Ojukwu, while teammate Marija Zelenovic countered with 15 kills, three aces and seven digs. Ojukwu also posted eight digs and two blocks.

Paula Ferreira set up the kills for her Columbia hitters with 52 assists. Three of her aces played a role in the win and she added nine digs. Lee's Camil Martinez delivered 44 assists, while Libby Peigen was outstanding from her Libero spot with 19 digs. Nicole Sumida was Lee's block leader with three, she also had five kills. Paula Martins added seven kills and two blocks.

"I thought we played them pretty even," said coach Andrea Hudson. "Our newness showed at times, but that will get better as we play more together."

The Lady Flames will be right back in action on Saturday at 2:30 when they will host No. 5-ranked Embry Riddle. However, the feature match on Saturday will pit No. 1 Brownsville against No. 3 Columbia at 10 a.m.