LEBANON, Tenn. — Campbellsville ran away with the first set and then ended up slugging out a three-set win tonight at Cumberland University, 25-11, 25-22, 25-22.
The Lady Tigers (3-0, 2-0 MSC) did not receive much of an endorsement from their coach, Amy Zink, after the match.
"We were horrible," said Zink. "Our focus was terrible and our execution even worse. We made entirely too many errors."
CU got seven of its nine first-set kills from Kelly Moyer (3), and two each from Rinata Aisena and Jana Kortas. But the set was won in the first eight points when Campbellsville held a 8-0 lead. Cumberland (4-3, 0-2 MSC) closed to within 9-5 before a Jackie Schwieger service ace gave the Lady Tigers a 22-9 lead.
Schwieger had three aces in the match and was credited with 20 of the teams' 32 assists. Krista Mihelsone added six assists.
Even though CU led 36-22 in kills, the Lady Tigers committed 10 service errors and 14 attack errors in the three-set match. Thirty-six kills in 92 attempts projects a .239 hitting percentage. Cumberland hit .049.
In set two, CU led by no more than four points (17-14 and 20-16). The latter was created by an Giselle Hernandez kill. But the Bulldogs tightened it up and it took a Aisena kill to put Cumberland away, 25-22.
In the third, Campbellsville pulled away from a 16-all tie, winning four of the next five points to give the Lady Tigers the separation they would need. CU won three straight points in a critical span when Moyer got a kill, Caitlin Dresing a service ace and Mihelsone a tip kill.
STATLINE
Kills: Rinata Aisena 12; Kelly Moyer 9; Daiane Souza 5; Giselle Hernandez 5; Jana Kortas 2; and Mihelsone 1.
Assists: Jackie Schwieger 20; Milhelsone 6; Audrey Sanders 3; Caitlin Dresing 2; Moyer 1.
Digs: Dresing 9; Haley Bechtel 8; Sanders 5; Moyer 4; Mihelsone 2 and one each by Aisena, Souza, Hernandez and Lexis Lloyd.
Service aces: Schwieger 3; Aisena and Sanders, 2; one each by Moyer, Mihelsone, Bechtel and Dresing.
Campbellsville gets right back in Mid-South Conference play on Saturday when it hosts Rio Grande (1-2, 0-1 MSC) at 1:00 in the Powell Athletic Center.
