Campbellsville University won its first three matches of a four-match weekend tournament in Canton, Ohio as the Tigers staked first-year coach Amy Eckenfels with a 3-1 record going into a home match Tuesday against Bryan College.

Eckenfels got some strong performances from her veterans, but also saw some newcomers step up as well.

"Overall I was pleased with the girls performance this weekend. The loss we took shows us areas that we need to improve," said Eckenfels.


The Tigers beat Roberts (N.Y.) Wesleyan and Concordia (Mich.) 3-0 in Friday matches.

Juniors Shannon Cahill (Louisville)  and Genevieve Collette (Winnipeg, Canada) led the team with 11 kills apiece in the first match. Caroline Martin, senior (Curitiba, Brazil), piled up 35 assists while five Tigers - Cahill, Martin, Monica Chernichan (Winnipeg), Lexis Lloyd (Palm City, Fla.) and Audrey Sanders (Pickerington, Ohio) had double-figure digs.

In Friday's second match, Cahill was joined by fellow junior Samantha James (Louisville) with 10 and nine kills, respectively. Martin added 29 assists. Martin and Sanders accounted for 36 of the Tigers' 51 digs.

Against Union (Ky.) College on Saturday, the match was extended to four games ... with the Tigers dropping the third 23-25 before rebounding for the match at 25-17.

"This team has outstanding chemistry and such a will to win," said Eckenfels. "The strength of the team right now is its cohesiveness, and the girls ability to communicate."

James, Collette and Chernichan had 10, 11 and 12 kills, respectively, and Martin set her team up with 40 assists. Martin led the team in digs with 24, followed by Chernichian (23) and Sanders (19).

After winning the first game against the host team Malone, a rematch of last November's NCCAA title match, 30-28. The Tigers lost three straight, 21-25, 17-25 and 25-27.

"We just were not playing our game," Eckenfels said. "They covered the floor well defensively. We had some defensive breakdowns which can be expected when there are six new players on a team of 11. We are learning how to work together, and I expect great things from this team."

Chernichan had 21 kills and Cahill 18 for the match. Martin led the team with 26 assists and was supported by Lilian DaSilva (junior, Sao Paulo, Brazil) with 21.  Chernichan had 20 digs to lead the team. Freshmen Sanders and Lloyd had 18 and 17 digs, respectively, and Cahill 15.

The match with Bryan begins at 6:30 in the Powell Athletic Center. It's the earliest home match for the Tigers in the past five seasons. Bryan, from Dayton, Tenn., play in the Appalachian Athletic Conference.

Weekend Scores: Roberts Wesleyan, won 3-0, 25-21, 25-13, 25-20; Concordia, won 3-0, 25-22, 25-18, 25-9; Union, won 3-1, 25-19, 27-25, 23-25, 25-17; Malone, lost 1-3, 30-28, 21-25, 17-25, 25-27.