BOURBONNAIS, Ill. — Lady Tiger volleyball upended host Olivet Nazarene University this morning in their first match but had to settle for a split on Saturday falling to St. Xavier University in the nightcap.
Going 1-1 today, Campbellsville (12-6) earned a split at the Olivet Nazarene Tournament. The Lady Tigers defeated Cardinal Stritch yesterday in the first match but fell to St. Francis (Ill.) in its second.
Match 1 vs. RVOlivet Nazarene – (12-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-20)
The Lady Tigers came out slow in game one, falling 25-12, but then coach
Amy Zink lit a spark under her team to win the next three. The loss for ONU would be the start of what would be a three-game losing streak for the host Wildcats - who started the season receiving votes in the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll.
Maria Coelho and
Annija Abolina led Campbellsville with 14 and 13 kills, respectively. Abolina finished with a stellar hitting percentage of .324.
CU's offensive attack finished with a total of 45 kills but fell victim to 10 service errors and only two aces. ONU led the match with 51 kills but the Lady Tigers took advantage of 24 attacking errors by the Wildcats. Campbellsville's defense also picked up the slack with eight assisted blocks between
Jessie Stone,
Julia Fonseca and Abolina.
Inoa Fields led CU with 39 of the 41 assists, while
Jessie Pendleton picked up 21 digs. Fields missed her 14
th double-double by just one dig, finishing with nine.
Match 2 vs. St. Xavier – (25-19, 20-25, 23-25, 25-20, 5-15)
In the night cap, St. Xavier served Campbellsville a little of its own medicine. After taking the first game, 25-19, the Lady Tigers then lost two-straight to get behind in the match, 2-1.
But CU rallied back with a 25-20 fourth set win before ultimately running out of gas and failing 15-5 in the fifth set. St. Xavier hit an astonishing .556 in the decisive set, capitalizing with kills in 6-of-9 attacks. The Lady Tigers struggled by finishing off 2-of-15 attacks.
In the two sets Campbellsville won, the Lady Tigers hit over .300, while St. Xavier hit in the .100's. In five-setters this season, Campbellsville's record falls to 3-2.
Abolina led the Lady Tigers with 13 kills but had a much lower attacking percentage (.154) from the first match. Coelho was right behind her with 12 kills, while freshman
Cassidy Mull provided support with a career-high seven.
St. Xavier used a trio of Cougars to dominated on the offensive side of the net and shut down the Lady Tigers block. Rory Manion finished with a match-high 19 kills and Helena Atton paced her with 16. Alex Lambros was also in double-digits with 10. After recording nine total blocks in the first match, the Lady Tigers finished with just three in the second.
Campbellsville's Fields and St. Xavier's Courtney Joyce both finished with 38 assists. Pendleton once again led the Lady Tigers on the defensive side with 32 digs.
The Lady Tigers return to Mid-South Conference play next week, as University of the Cumberlands travels to Tiger Town for matchup on Tuesday, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. The JV Lady Tigers will start the doubleheader at 5 p.m. Live video and stats will be provided for the varsity match.
