Senior Night turned into a point-for-point battle at Powell Athletic Center on Thursday, as Campbellsville University held off Indiana University Southeast in a tight 3-0 win (25-23, 25-23, 25-22) in the final home match for seniors Brooke Marcum and Caroline Martin.



First year Lady Tigers Monica Chernichan and Genevieve Collette put away the first set after collecting back-to-back kills to break a 23-23 tie. Chernichan played tough defense through the first set, collecting nine digs and two block assists. Martin and Audrey Sanders followed with eight and seven digs in the set, as the Lady Tigers dove for 35 digs in the opening set.

IUS took an early lead in the second set. Despite numerous ties by CU, the Lady Tigers were unable to take the lead until a Giselle Hernandez ace put the score at 18-17. Chernichan extended the lead to two points before IUS tied it again, 19-19. After an attack error kept CU on top, 20-19, a diving dig by Sanders helped set up a spike by Samantha James to end a long volley and distance the lead. Campbellsville survived a give-and-take of unforced errors by both teams to seal another 25-23 win with a Chernichan kill. She had six in the set and finished the match with 13 kills and 17 digs. Sanders led CU with 23 digs and six aces.

Set three was once again an early battle, as the Grenadiers didn't let up. Campbellsville took a three-point lead three times before stretching it to the Lady Tigers' first five-point lead of the match, 16-11, with a Collette kill. IUS rallied to cut the lead back to two, 21-19. CU maintained its lead and closed out the win, 25-22, with an error by IUS.

Martin closed out her two-year senior career at home with 34 assists and 19 digs for her 13th consecutive double-double. Marcum helped lead her team to its 42nd home win in her four-year career as a Lady Tiger. Also being honored as a CU senior is four-year junior varsity player Whitney Huber.

Hernandez also had a double-double, the first of her career, with 10 kills and 13 digs.

Campbellsville finishes the regular season with a 25-9 record. The Lady Tigers will enter next week's Mid-South Conference Tournament in Frankfort, Ky., as the No. 2 seed from the Mid-South West Division. CU will face the University of Virginia College at Wise (11-22) in the tournament quarterfinals at noon. The winner of the match advances to the semifinal at 6 p.m. The championship match will be Tuesday, Nov. 9 at 2 p.m. All matches are played at Farnham Dudgeon Civic Center.