Sep. 19—In a matchup between two nationally ranked teams, Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute's volleyball team won in straight sets against Sandhills Community College Friday afternoon at the CCCTI campus in Hudson.

Caldwell won 25-21, 25-18, and 25-21 to win its 12th match in a row.

The Cobras came into Friday's match ranked 13th in the most recent National Junior College Athletic Association DIII poll, while Sandhills was ranked fifth.

In the first set, Caldwell took an early lead of 10-8 before Sandhills battled back to take a 13-11 lead.

Sandhills would take a 20-18 lead before the Cobras won four straight points to take a 22-20 lead and force Sandhills to take a timeout.

The Cobras closed out the set on a 3-1 run to win the first set 25-21.

In the second set, Caldwell stormed out to a 14-6 lead, forcing Sandhills to burn both of its timeouts.

The Flyers rallied twice, cutting the Cobra lead down to two points, but Caldwell closed out the second set on a 6-1 run to win the set 25-18.

Down 0-2, Sandhills looked to avoid the sweep and built an eight-point lead at 13-5, but CCCTI chipped away at the deficit and eventually took a 16-15 lead.

The Cobras then built a five-point lead at 21-16 and closed out the set and match with a 25-21 win in the third set.

Catherine Pate led the Cobras with 13 kills as Laney Craig added 10 kills. Emma Grace Hiatt tallied 14 assists, and Josie Chappell dished out 13 assists.

Defensively, Emily Ramirez had a team-high 17 digs, while Leah Pimentel was credited with four block assists.

Caldwell improved to 14-2 overall and 2-0 in Region 10 Division III play, while Sandhills saw its four-match win streak come to an end and its record fall to 10-6.

CCCTI is 7-0 at home this season and will host Patrick & Henry Community College on Tuesday at 6 p.m.