Campbellsville University moves into the NCCAA National Semifinals for Division I volleyball Saturday after sweeping Pool B, 4-0. The second-seed Lady Tigers downed Southwestern Assemblies of God, 25-23, 25-23, 25-20, to remain as the only unbeaten team in the tournament.
Junior setter
Caroline Martin of Curitiba, Brazil set the tone for CU as she broke the 40-assist mark in a three-set match for the first time at CU with 45 in the match. Her average of 15 assists per set is a high for the season. In the four matches of the tournament, she has collected 145 set assists.
"I think now we're coming together as a team. I trust the players to shoot the ball and know they are going to be there," Martin said. "All of us feel great going into tomorrow. We're acting as a group and hustling. We have our down moments, but we talk and let it go. After the regional in Georgia, we've gotten a lot more close as a team in and outside the sport."
The fourth win of the tournament was not easy, as Southwestern looked to beat the Lady Tigers in pool play for the second straight year. CU took a 7-2 lead in the first set, but the Lions roared back to go up 12-9. Martin worked the score even, 19-19, with an attack assisted by
Renee Netherton, but SAG kept Campbellsville from pulling away.
Whitney Haynes and
Shannon Cahill each had kills late to help CU maintain a two-point lead and a 25-23 first-set win.
Set two looked to belong to the Southwestern Lions, as they led for the first 18 points. Louisville native
Samantha James, who had 10 kills in the match, had a pair back-to-back to pull within a point and even the game, 18-18. The teams traded points until Cahill tipped the final point over the net for her 10
th kill of the match and the win, 25-23. She finished with 14 in the match. Netherton had nine kills in the match.
Southwestern continued to hold CU close in the third set, tying the score, 4-4, early, but Campbellsville went on an 8-3 rally to go up by six, 12-6. The distance never grew closer than three, 21-17, as CU went on to close out the match with a 25-20 win.
Defensively, Campbellsville had 62 digs, led by Martin's 19 and 17 from Louisville freshman
Caitlin Dresing. Haynes and Cahill each had 12, while
Jovana Koprivicia had seven. As a team, CU blocked six attempts, led by Netherton's one solo block and three assisted. Haynes and
Christiana Sindelar each had their hands in two blocks.
CU (36-13), which advanced to the NCCAA Tournament by winning the Mid-East Region Nov. 21 in Lookout Mountain, Ga., will play either Bryan College, also of the Mid-East Region, Saturday at noon in the NCCAA Semifinals. Top-seeded Mount Vernon Nazarene University will play Malone University at 10 a.m. The national championship will be played at 3 p.m.