ADRIAN, Mich. — Tiger volleyball split the opening two games of the Siena Heights University Invitational on Friday night. Campbellsville defeated Lawrence Tech in straight-sets but then lost in four to Cardinal Stritch.
Rafael Cruz led the Tigers with 30 kills in the two matches combined, while
Bryce Johnson finished with 26 and
Adam Conklin had 23. In game two,
Keaton Marshall delivered a career-high 49 assists. He and
Hunter Monday split passing duties in the first match with 24 and 13 assists, respectively.
Campbellsville (5-8) will be back in action on Saturday morning with first serve vs. the host Siena Heights University Saints at 11 a.m. ET. Live video and stats will be available on CampbellsvilleTigers.com.
Game one – Campbellsville 3, Lawrence Tech 0 (25-20, 27-25, 25-14)
The Tigers dominated Lawrence Tech with a team hitting percentage of .407 compared to .138 for LTU. Cruz and Johnson teamed up for a combined 23 kills and both hit over .400.
In the first set, CU led 5-1, 12-6 and again 20-14 before taking the set 25-20.
Set two was as close as it could be until the end. Tied at 10-all, neither team would lead by more than three points the rest of the way. Lawrence Tech took their first lead, 19-18 but the Tigers rallied back.
CU had set point, 25-24, but a service error gave Lawrence Tech another life. That was until a service error and attack error by Alejandro Gonzalez gave Campbellsville the set.
In the third, it was all CU. Lawrence Tech hit .000 with eight kills, eight errors and 32 attacks. The Tigers finished hitting above .400 for the second time of the night (.409) and jumped out to a 10-5 early lead. Campbellsville's lead grew the rest of the set, as Cruz and
Adam Conklin both delivered four kills in the finale.
Game two – Cardinal Stritch 3, Campbellsville 1 (27-25, 26-24, 27-29, 25-20)
In the second match of the doubleheader, Campbellsville came out swinging in the opening set but cooled drastically in the final three. The Tigers hit .400 in the first set but Cardinal Stritch one-upped CU with 17 kills and one error (.552).
Campbellsville led by three, 16-13 but Cardinal Stritch answered with a 4-1 run and tied the set at 17-all. The Wolves took a 20-19 lead but the Tigers stole it right back by leading 25-24 and having set point on their side. But Cardinal Stritch's Scott Fabian and Joao Neto Sales delivered consecutive kills to secure the set victory.
Both teams cooled in set two, but the Wolves hit drastically better than CU - .188 to 0.53. For the second-straight set, it would be decided by extra points. Neither team grew its lead larger than two points the entire way.
The Wolves led 11-9 before the Tigers rallied and led 23-21. But a service error by Johnson and ace by Neto Sales cut the score to 23-all. Conklin was able to deliver a kill but the Wolves ended up scoring five of the final six points.
In the third, Campbellsville upped its game back to hitting .277 but the Wolves stayed at .173. CU took a 12-8 lead but Cardinal Stritch erased that by tying the set at 18-all. CU ended up fighting off three set points for the Wolves before a pair of CSU attack errors gave the Tigers the set, 29-27.
Campbellsville ran out of the gas in the final set, though, falling 25-20. Cardinal Stritch jumped out to a 15-9 lead and ended up taking a 17-10 lead. The Wolves hit .200 in the final set compared to .086 for Campbellsville.
