CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – After severe weather forced the postponement of the Tiger's last matchup, CU will return to floor with an NAIA top 10 battle Sunday afternoon.
No. 2 Campbellsville (19-2, 6-0 MSC) will look to face No. 10 Aquinas College (12-5, 4-1 WHAC) in the Gosser Gym at 4 p.m. ET.
The Tigers enter Sunday's matchup in the midst of seven consecutive straight set wins, Aquinas has only been swept twice this season as they look to provide a test for CU.
While the Saints have five losses on their schedule, all five have come from NAIA top 10 opponents, No. 1 Grand View, No. 8 Saint Xavier, No. 4 Lourdes, and Missouri Baptist, twice, when they were ranked third and fourth.
In similar games with these opponents, the Tigers have beaten both Missouri Baptist and Grand View in their first two matches of the season but have not seen a ranked opponent since.
The Saints back line has provided much of the defensive work, as their 11.1 digs per set rank them eighth in the NAIA. Aquinas also ranks 12
th in hitting percentage as they swing at a 0.262 clip.
Individually, the offense is led by Joshua Boothroyd as he leads the team with 22 aces and 179 kills.
Rafael Cruz has been a part of the dynamic attack of the Tigers as he leads Campbellsville in total kills with 188 on the season, aiding them to 874 on the season to rank fourth in the NAIA.
The Tigers also rank in the NAIA's top five in aces (126), blocks (155), and assists (813). Individually,
Ramon Matos and
John Montalvo leads CU in the top NAIA rankings as Matos is 12
th in hitting percentage (0.409) and blocks (62) and Montalvo is 13
th in digs (168).
This match looks to close out the Tiger home stand before they will travel to Thomas More University on March 10
th at 7 p.m. ET.