CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – The Lady Tigers of Campbellsville University (12-3, 6-0 MSC) were hosting the Patriots of the University of the Cumberlands (12-6, 2-3 MSC) in a Mid-South Conference match-up Friday night. Campbellsville came into the match having defeated the University of Pikeville the previous night in straight sets. Cumberlands came into the match looking to break a three-game losing streak all to conference opponents.
Molly Shannon made sure otherwise as Campbellsville captured the five-setter and climbed to 7-0 in conference play on the season.
In the first set, the Lady Tigers jumped out to an early lead only to see the Patriots make a comeback and get to within one point. Campbellsville picked up the next point on a dump by
Paige Merrick which allowed for substitutions. Marianne Cassiano subbed in and made her presence felt with a thunderous kill that gave her teammates a commanding advantage and forced the Patriots to take a timeout. The rest of the opener was all Lady Tigers as they captured set one by the score of 25-14. Leading the way for Campbellsville offensively was Shannon with six kills and on the defensive side
Andrea Laboy and Merrick each with five digs.
Cumberlands went deep into their arsenal to start off the second set jumping out to a 6 to nothing lead. The Patriots continued to cage the Lady Tigers midway through the se at 10-16 when Shannon found the back corner of the Patriots' defense to score a point. That point proved pivotal as Campbellsville used that spark to engineer a comeback. Using an 8-2 run, the Lady Tigers were able to capture the lead at 22-20 and force the Patriots into making more adjustments. After a Patriots timeout, defensive specialist
Katie Morin made an acrobatic play to save the ball and Campbellsville converted that into a point which got the crowd on its feet. Feeding off of the energy in the gym, the Lady Tigers captured the second set, 25-21. Up to that point
McKenna Barfield had 5 blocks and Shannon added was in double-digit kills at 11.
With the Lady Tigers up two sets to none, the Patriots were hoping to avoid the sweep and fought hard. Cumberlands built a six-point lead with the score at 9-15 and Campbellsville took a timeout. However, the Patriots had too much momentum and continued to exert their control of the set over the Lady Tigers. With the sore 17-21 in favor of Cumberlands, Barfield secured a kill that allowed the Lady Tigers to substitute in Cassiano again making an immediate impact. However, the lead was too large to overcome as the Patriots took the set, 23-25.
In the fourth set, both teams battled for points. Midway through the set, the Patriots started to separate a little but the Lady Tigers clawed their way back into it. However, with the score 21-19 the Patriots put together a four-point run to close out and tie things up at two sets a piece. The Patriots played opportunistic volleyball in this set as the Lady Tigers couldn't get anything going towards the end. The difference was the Cumberlands defense limiting the Campbellsville offense to just a .024 hitting percentage.
With the score tied at two sets a piece, the Lady Tigers won the coin toss and elected to serve. Jumping out to a 5-2 lead, Campbellsville's play had the home crowd electrified. The Lady Tigers continued to dominate using precise serving and a strong presence at the net. The front row limited the Patriots attacks while punishing them on offense. At the service line, Laboy produced a six-point run that put the match out of reach for Cumberlands. Campbellsville took the fifth set and the match by the score of 15-8.
CU improved their conference record to 7-0 and 13-3 overall. Leading the way was Shannon with double figures: 22 kills (career-high) and 11 digs. Merrick also had double figures: 45 assists and 16 digs. Up next for the Lady Tigers they will be on the road facing Thomas More University on Friday, October 7
th at 7pm ET.
