FORT WORTH, Texas – Campbellsville women's volleyball team erased a one-set deficit and held a 2-1 lead in the match, but host Texas Wesleyan rallied and won the match in five sets on Saturday afternoon.
 
Annija Abolina led the Lady Tigers (26-9) with 17 kills to go along with a match-high 26 digs from Marcella Compeau. Kate Harris compiled 37 assists in the match on 52 kills from Campbellsville.
 
Shelby Stinnett racked up a match best 19 kills to lead the Rams (27-4). Sasha Robinson recorded a double-double with 31 assists and 18 digs. Texas Wesleyan had 14 blocks, compared to three from the Lady Tigers.
 
Playing in its first NAIA National Championship since 2007, Campbellsville jumped up to a 3-0 lead, but the Rams came storming back to take a 7-6 lead in the first set. Texas Wesleyan got into a groove and stretched its 9-8 lead into the 25-14 first set victory.
 
The Lady Tigers got off to another quick start in the second set scoring eight of the first 10 points in the set. Campbellsville extended its advantage to 15-3, but the Rams countered with an 18-3 run in the set to grab 21-18 edge over the Lady Tigers. Campbellsville did not back down and tied the set at 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26 before taking a 27-26 lead. During that stretch, the Lady Tigers staved off three set points.
 
Campbellsville could not close out the set with Texas Wesleyan scoring back-to-back points and holding the Lady Tigers at its four set point, 28-27. Campbellsville put together one more rally and scored three-straight points – backed by two kills from Abolina and a service ace from Savannah Moss – to win the second set, 30-28, and tie the match at one set apiece.
 
The Lady Tigers started to fin their grove with an 11-3 to start the third set forcing a Texas Wesleyan timeout. Campbellsville continued to maintain its lead in the second set en route to winning the set, 25-12, and grabbing a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
Looking to close out the match, Campbellsville took a 4-2 lead, but a 4-0 spurt from the Rams put Texas Wesleyan on top 8-5. The Rams led the remainder of the fourth set and forced a decisive fifth set with a 25-18 set win.
 
The Lady Tigers got out on the front foot in the final set, but six-straight points from the Rams gave them a 9-5 advantage. Campbellsville could not recover from the run as Texas Wesleyan scored six of the final seven points in the fifth set to win 15-7 and win the match, 3-2.
 
Campbellsville hit just .116 for the match, while the Rams hit at .259 clip.
 
Texas Wesleyan now moves on the NAIA National Championship Final Site in Sioux City, Iowa later this month.
 
The Lady Tigers finished their NAIA tournament run with a record of 26-9 overall. 

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