CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. — Lady Tiger volleyball used a team effort from Annija Abolina, Maria Coelho and Julia Fonseca to run past Kentucky State University in four sets, 25-22, 21-25, 25-19, 25-12.
 
Abolina led CU with 15 kills, while Coelho tallied 10 and Fonseca had nine. In the last eight matches, Coelho has led the offensive charge for CU with double-digit kills in seven of those and averaging 11.87 kills per match in that stretch.
 
Tonight, Kentucky State came out firing on all cylinders but the Lady Tigers quickly found their groove. After a pair of opening-set timeouts by CU and trailing 13-6, Coach Amy Zink rallied her troops. CU then went on a 9-1 run to take its first lead, 15-14, forcing Kentucky State to take a timeout of its own.
 
Both teams went back and fourth, eventually tying the set at 19 but CU finished the Thoroughbreds with a 6-3 run, taking set one, 25-22.
 
The second set was the exact opposite. The Lady Tigers jumped out to a 15-10 lead but Kentucky State then rallied off a 10-2 run to take a 20-17 advantage. After a CU timeout, the Thoroughbreds finished the second set with five of the eight points, knotting the match at one set apiece, 25-21.
 
Campbellsville stole all the momentum in the third set. With the score in CU's favor, 3-2, the Lady Tigers rallied off 12 of the next 16 points and extended their lead, 15-7. CU went ahead even further by doubling up KSU, 19-8, but the Thoroughbreds attempted a comeback. Led by Kirtrice Ploucha, Kentucky State, rallied to bring the score back to just a four-point deficit, 22-18. But Coelho and Fonseca earned consecutive kills and CU used a KSU service error to take set three, 25-19.
 
The fourth set was all Campbellsville. KSU took brief leads, 1-0 and 4-3, but the Lady Tigers put an end to that. Consecutive kills by Katie Johnson and Jessie Stone pushed the score to 8-4 and started the CU rally. Campbellsville then finished off the Thoroughbreds with a 17-8 run to win the set, 25-12, and the match, 3-1.
 
Inoa Fields, the reigning NCCAA Player of the Week, led the Lady Tigers with 30 assists on the offensive side of the net, while Jessie Pendleton, the reigning Mid-South Conference Defender of the Week, led CU with 18 digs. Fields was one dig away from her ninth-straight double-double.
 
Ploucha led Kentucky State with 13 kills, while Kyle Anjelique finished with 28 assists.
 
The Lady Tigers will return to Powell Athletic Center on Thursday, Sept. 8 with their first Mid-South Conference matchup of the season. CU will host Cumberland University at 7 p.m. ET.