DES MOINES, Iowa – It was not the start the Campbellsville University men's volleyball team was looking for to begin the NAIA Tournament as they suffered their second defeat of 2021 to Indiana Tech by a final of 3-1.
The Warriors gave up a five-point lead in the first set, allowing CU to win the opener before taking the next three sets to eventually win by scores of 25-27, 25-22, 26-24, and 25-23.
IIT's biggest advantage in the match came on the block as they rejected 13 Tiger attacks for points compared to just seven blocks for Campbellsville. Even when Indiana Tech wasn't scoring points on the block, they were creating a tough attack for CU as the Tigers finished with a .108 hitting percentage.
The leading scorers for Campbellsville were outside hitters
Ho Yin Leung and
Rafael Cruz as they both individually scored 12.5 points with Leung finishing with a team-high 12 kills and Cruz adding 10.
For the Warriors, Daynte Stewart led all players in the match with 14 kills on 45 total attacks with six errors for a .178 attack percentage. The trio of Raekwon Rogers, Mason Milan, and Chase Christiansen all added seven kills with Rogers (6) and Christiansen (5) being a big part of their blocking efforts.
Doing all they could on the back row, the Tigers finished with 54 digs, led by
Jay Montalvo's match-high 20 as Leung (7), Cruz (4),
Jeremy Hernandez (6),
Jose Viera Cerame (5),
Jakob Zum Kolk (5), and
Ryan Smith (4) all put in hard work defending.
Smith led the Tigers in assists with 25, playing an extra turn in the rotation, picking up some serving responsibilities throughout the match as Hernandez only finished with 10 assists. Indiana Tech's Brandon Jones finished with the match high in assists, ending the four-set affair with 33 assists on the 48 Warrior kills.
This does not end the national championship hopes for the Tigers as they have one more pool play match remaining against Vanguard University on Thursday morning. With a win and a potential Vanguard victory over Indiana Tech on Wednesday, it would set up a tiebreaker scenario with all three teams in Pool C finishing 1-1.
