Volleyball Recap: Liberty-Benton Starts Season with Victory Against Columbian

Liberty-Benton took care of business in their home opener (barely) on Monday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against the Columbian Tornadoes, sneaking past 3-2. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Eagles have posted since September 28, 2024.

The match was a true back-and-forth as no team won consecutive sets, but in the end it was Liberty-Benton who won the one that mattered. The final score came out to 25-14, 20-25, 25-19, 22-25, 15-9.

Evelyn Ricker

Digs (Career)

08/18/25 vs Columbian	17
09/16/24 @ Vanlue	4
09/23/24 @ Elmwood	1
09/07/24 vs Allen East	1

Liberty-Benton was led to victory by Maddy Amstutz and Evelyn Ricker. Amstutz had 31 digs and three aces, while Ricker had 17 digs and one assist. Those 17 digs gave Ricker a new career-high.

They weren't the only good server: Liberty-Benton was lethal from the service line and finished the game with 11 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least five aces in nine consecutive matchups dating back to last season.

Despite the loss, Columbian still got an impressive performance from Emma Daugherty, who had 29 digs. The team also got some help courtesy of Erica Raubenolt, who had 11 digs and one assist.

Columbian's defeat dropped their record down to 1-1.

Liberty-Benton wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next game, a 3-1 loss against Eastwood on the 21st. As for Columbian, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 3-0 win against Shelby on the 19th.