HARROGATE, Tenn. — Campbellsville could not hold a 2-1 set advantage, nor a four-point lead in the fifth as Lincoln Memorial handed the Tigers their third five-set loss of the season tonight, 19-25, 25-16, 25-20, 23-25, 11-15.
CU (6-10, 2-1 MSC) figured something out in the second and third sets, rebounding from a first-set .105 hitting percentage to pull ahead of the RailSplitters, 2-1.
Campbellsville picked up 24 of its 40 kills in the second and third sets and had a match-high hitting percentage in the third set when its efficiency was .333.
Lincoln Memorial (4-9) and owner of a 4-1 record at home, held a 55-40 advantage in kills and that helped the Railsplitters overcome 31 service errors.
In the fourth set, Campbellsville could manage but four kills and lost the set 25-23 on a service error.
In the fifth, the Tigers took a 5-1 lead as
Rafael Cruz and
Adam Conklin hammered home two kills apiece to give CU a 9-6 lead. But Lincoln Memorial, which had 31 service errors in the match, cleaned up its act and used a couple of Joshua Riblett kills to end an 8-2 run from which Campbellsville could not recover.
Cruz led CU with 15 kills and completed a double-double with 10 digs.
Bryce Johnson had 11 kills along with two aces.
Noel Camello and
Philip Turia had nine and eight digs, respectively.
Campbellsville will stay on the road Friday, Feb. 24 when it travels to Marshall, Mo. and plays Park University (3 p.m.) and Missouri Valley (9 p.m.).
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