KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Campbellsville came into the NCCAA National Tournament with a perfect 4-0 record on December 5th but Shorter Hawks and Point Loma Nazarene Sea Lions put an end to that streak today at Kissimmee Civic Center. The Lady Tigers dropped both matches and find themselves in a 0-2 hole in pool play.
In the nightcap the Lady Tigers struggled to find a rhythm against the No. 1 seed Point Loma down. The Sea Lions jumped out to an early 11-8 lead in the first set but the three-point difference was as close as Campbellsville could get the rest of the match.
CU had a season-low eight kills in the first set. The Lady Tigers just could not get on the same page with its offensive attacks and passing. But it surely didnt help that sophomore Jana Kortas sat out due to sickness.
The Sea Lions took advantage of the miscommunication on CU's side of the net and recorded a match-high 17 kills in the first set. Alyssa Dwyer and Heather Leavitt led the way for Point Loma with seven and five kills, respectively. The duo finished the match with 12 and 10 kills and Kelli LeClair added 10 kills of her own.
As a Lady Tiger fan it was hard to swallow the first-set loss but the second set went much like the first. CU recorded a new season-low six kills and committed nine attack errors.
Haley Bechtel moved up to the front line for Campbellsville in Kortas' absence but the sophomore from Syracuse, Ill. could not match the regular right-side hitters from PLNU.
Also, Aleksandra Popovic logged valuable minutes for CU and recorded two kills in the match.
Seniors Kelly Moyer and Diane Souza both recorded five kills apiece to lead Campbellsville in the offensive category.
Shorter 3, Campbellsville 2
PHOTO GALLERY VS POINT LOMA
The first match was a lot closer for the CU faithful who made the 14-hour drive down to Kissimmee, Fla.
CU was down 2-1 going into the fourth set against Shorter University. Giselle Hernandez sparked the Lady Tigers as she recorded four kills. Rinata Aisena and Jana Kortas both chipped in for three in the fourth frame.
Although CU won set four 25-20, the Lady Hawks proved they were not going to back down from the former NCCAA National Champions.
Shorter dominated the final set. Trailing 3-1 early, the Lady Hawks finished on a 14-4 run, giving CU its first loss of the tournament.
The Lady Tigers came out on fire in the first set as the senior trio of Aisena, Hernandez and Kelly Moyer led the way with 11 of the teams 15 kills.
Campbellsville applied the pressure early to Shorter as the Lady Hawks committed eight attacking errors; four of those came from Jasmine Cook, Shorter's leading offensive weapon.
The Lady Hawks did not get down as they won the next set handily, 25-12.
Coach Amy Zink was not happy with the way the second set went and showed her emotion in the team huddle between sets.
With the match tied 1-1, both teams went back and fourth in the third set but the Lady Hawks pulled out a nail bitter, 25-23. The Lady Tigers trailed 18-12, but pulled to within one, 24-23, on a Moyer kill ... only to lose match point
Campbellsville and Shorter both fought all the way to the end but the Lady Hawks seemed to keep the momentum throughout the middle portion of the match.
Many teams will get up in the beginning of the match and once again at the end. But in sports, the middle third of the game is the most difficult for which to stay up. That is the rub on many occasions and it was the same for Campbellsville.
Campbellsville will look to pick up its first win tomorrow when pool=play continues. CU will play No. 8 Southern Nazarene University and No. 9 Oakland City University. Games times are the same as today, 2 and 6 p.m.
Live video will be available through Tourbeau Sports. Click here for more details.
Follow @CvilleTigers for in-game updates.
