CLEVELAND, Tenn. — After a great comeback win against Indiana University Southeast on Saturday, Campbellsville (17-7, 9-3 MSC) lost its magic tonight as it faced off with Lee University (10-5, 6-3 GSC). The Flames beat the Lady Tigers in five sets, 16-25, 24-26, 25-23, 25-23, 12-15.
Campbellsville fought back in the second, third, and fourth sets, as they didn't let the Flames win easily. The Lady Tigers used an 11-4 run to win the third set, 25-23. CU also came back from being down 17-13 and won the fourth set 25-23 as Kelly Moyer led CU with a season-high 15 kills. But the Lady Tigers could not overcome the early 2-0 deficit and Lee won the fifth set 15-13. Service errors have been the achilles heel this year for the veteran club, as CU recorded seven in the first three sets but only one in the final two.
"It's good to see the team battle back," said Zink. "Sometimes they do not realize their full potential and let the opportunity pass them by, but they fought their way back to make it a match tonight."
Lee University came out of the gate fast as it took control of the first set in the early stages. The Lady Tigers saw themselves get down 12-6 before Zink took her first timeout of the match. Lee scored 13 of the next 23 points to put Campbellsville behind 1-0.
The second set was a different story, though, as Campbellsville and Lee went back-and-fourth untill the Flames took the 26-24 win. Moyer led CU with six kills in the second set and gave CU a chance to even the match. But Campbellsville gave away four points on service errors that ended up being the difference maker.
As it looked like Campbellsville was starting to run out of its magic, the Lady Tigers showed some life in the third set. Lee ended up leading 19-13, but Campbellsville came back and scored seven out of the next eight points to square the match at 20. As the score eventually was 24-20, Lee scored three points in a row but CU put the set away with a kill by sophomore Haley Bechtel; forcing the Flames to play a fourth set.
Campbellsville gained all the momentum in the fourth set as the magic came back to the Lady Tigers bench in full force. As Lee started to pull away and made the score 17-13, Campbellsville used another comeback to even the score at 19 apiece. After CU extended its lead to 22-20 and a time out by the Flames, Rinata Aisena recorded two service aces to give CU the mojo they had been looking for. Moyer came up big again as she recorded her 14th kill to square the match at 2 sets a piece.
But Campbellsville ran out of steam in the fifth set as the Lady Tigers could not overcome the early 2-0 deficit. CU got to within two points, 11-9, before the Flames ended up winning the set and match, 15-13.
Campbellsville will continue on its six-game road stretch when it travels to University of Rio Grande Saturday, Oct. 26. The Lady Tigers swept the RedStorm in their first matchup on the year and are 4-1 over Rio Grande since it entered the Mid-South Conference in 2009.
Game time for the match is set for 7 p.m. ET. Keep posted as live stats and live video updates will be added throughout the week.
To follow CU Lady Tiger Volleyball, check them out on Twitter- @CUTigerVball. Also, follow all Campbellsville University athletic events, stats, and, scores @CvilleTigers.
Game Notes
- Moyer led CU with a season-high 15 kills. She was only two kills away from tying her career high (17 - 2011).
- Kills: Aisena 13; Kortas 9; Bechtel 5; Hernandez 4; Souza 3; Schwieger, Sanders and Popovic 1.
- Assists: Schwieger 30; Mihelsone 11.
- Digs: Dresing 13; Sanders 9, Schwieger and Bechtel 8.
Aces: Aisena 2; Schwieger and Bechtel 1
