Campbellsville University won its pool for the second straight year and advanced to the national semifinal at the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Volleyball Tournament with a 3-0 win over Southeastern University Friday morning.

The third-seeded Lady Tigers clinch the first-place spot in Pool B with one match remaining Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. against second-seed Mount Vernon Nazarene University.



The Lady Tigers' third match was its least impressive of the tournament, according to CU head coach Amy Eckenfels. CU fell behind early, 6-2, in the first set to Southeastern and trailed nearly the entire set until taking a 21-20 lead on a Caroline Martin kill. The Lady Tigers went on to win the set 25-21 and won the next two sets 25-14 and 25-20 for their third 10th straight win in the national tournament dating back to last season.

"It's a win in three, but I wasn't impressed," Eckenfels said. "We didn't do a good job passing the ball and got lazy on coverage ... Yesterday, they showed a little bit of what we're used to seeing, and today I saw a lot of it, especially when the ball would hit the floor on serve receptions. I told the girls, often we play down to the level of the other team, but we got through it to get the win in three sets. I am pleased with them, but not impressed with their effort."

Eckenfels and the CU team was impressed with a few stats though, as CU collected double-figure team blocks for the second straight match with 11 combined blocks in the win. Samantha James led the block party with three solo blocks and three assisted blocks, while Canadian duo Genevieve Collette and Monica Chernichan each had three blocks.

Collette led the offensive attack with a career-high 17 kills, including six in the final set. She led CU with a .448 hitting percentage, her fifth-highest percentage of the season.

"I told her after the match, and she was surprised. She's not one to look at stats," Eckenfels said.

The first-year Lady Tiger has emerged as a leader on the team this season, especially through her display of confidence.

"I talked to Gen in the beginning about being a leader and teaching the girls. She is a solid player that even when she has bad games, she helps provide her team with confidence," Eckenfels said.

Joining Collette in double figures was CU junior Shannon Cahill, who had 10. Caroline Martin once again had 30-plus assists (34) and double-figure digs (13) - her 33rd double-double this season. Audrey Sanders also led the defense with 13 digs.

With the win, Campbellsville (33-10) advances to the NCCAA semifinals and will play either Palm Beach Atlantic or Indiana Wesleyan at noon on Saturday. The Lady Tigers close their pool play schedule at 4 p.m. today against MVNU.

Live Scoring of all matches can be viewed on the NCCAA Web site, here.

Live Video of all matches may also be viewed for free by clicking here.

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