BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The three-seeded Campbellsville University men's volleyball team went into Mid-South Conference quarterfinals to compete against the two-seeded Webber International University Warriors Friday evening. Despite falling in the first two sets, the Tigers stormed back to take the game in five and advance to the championship.
The Tigers began set one by getting two quick points on the Warriors. However, Webber evened the score due to Campbellsville's mistakes. After trading the serve for several points, the Tigers accumulated five points from Webber's return in errors accompanied by an ace and kill from
Niklas Held. Campbellsville forced the Warriors to a 9-4 deficit, but Webber was relentless in their pursuit to decrease the lead. The Warriors accomplished their task of seizing their lead. They continued to climb the trail toward the win as a Webber Warrior earned four aces in his turn at the serving line. An attack error earned the Tigers back possession which led to both teams trading points. Double kills from
Ho Yin Leung sat Campbellsville four points away from evening the score but the Warriors would continue to grow their lead. Webber took set one in a score of 25-18.
Campbellsville and Webber were toe-to-toe in their attempts to win the serve. The set's score evened at 8 as the Tigers capitalized from the Warriors' error. Campbellsville trailed the Warriors by one and could not seem to bust out of their discrepancy. Leung's serve called for a tie score of 15 and an error on Webber awarded the Tigers their first lead since the start of the set.
Jason Camacho and
Ryan Smith both collected kills to set Campbellsville three above Webber. The Warriors were swinging hard at the net. Although Campbellsville pushed hard toward ending the Tigers' discrepancy, Webber captured set two 26-24.
Set three saw Camacho earn Campbellsville their first point with a kill assisted by Smith. The teams battled back-and-forth for several possessions of play. The Tigers eliminated their shortfall at 10 with kills from Camacho and Held. Campbellsville grabbed a three-point lead boosted largely by Camacho's kills. The Tigers kept up the intensity and Camacho kept swinging. Campbellsville put a top to Webber's score at 20 and went on to secure the set. Camacho earned himself nine kills set three.
The Tigers got ahead of the Warriors 6-2 as they solidified four kills within their first six points. Campbellsville expanded their lead to six points due to kills from
Bastian Korreck and Camacho. The Warriors made their climb to shorten their deficit, but the Tigers maintained their lead. Webber inched closer to Campbellsville with an accumulation of kills. However, the Tigers finished the set and closed off the Warriors from advancing further.
In the final set, Webber got ahead 5-1 before the Tigers regained possession from their opponents' errors. Kills from
Eric Heller and Held allowed the Tigers to trail the lead by one. Held's kill evened the score at 8 and set a precedent for his teammates to follow. Webber fought back and tied the set at 12, but Smith's kill stole back possession of the serve. Smith then followed with an ace to set the Tigers at match point. Camacho left the Warriors unbalanced with his kill to mid-court. The Tigers won the match in a score of 3-2.
Camacho finished the evening with 22 kills (his career-high) while Korreck and Held finished in double-digits as well with ten apiece.
Jay Montalvo earned 21 digs out of the 59 total.
The Tigers will now take on the number one seed in Georgetown College Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. ET for the Mid-South Conference Tournament Championship.
