CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – On Saturday, the Tigers hosted the Freed-Hardeman Lions for their senior day and last regular season game. After going 2-2 within the first four sets, the Tigers took the victory over the Lions, 3-2. With the win, Campbellsville secured their status as Mid-South Conference Regular Season Champions behind their 11-1 MSC record.
The Lions opened the first set with a kill. However, Molly Shannon quickly retaliated with a kill of her own, putting the Tigers on the scoreboard. The Tigers held onto the lead, and despite Freed-Hardeman's efforts to catch up to Campbellsville, Hannah McGill and Brooke Hager blocked their opportunities to score. The Lions collected eight straight points in their favor, but Campbellsville's diligent fight did not falter, as MacKenzie Poteet and Beyza Bektasoglu's kills closed the first frame, winning 25-21.
Much like the first, Freed-Hardeman was the first to score in the second set. Kills by Cierra Merrick and McGill put the Tigers on the score, earning Campbellsville an early lead in the game. The Lions retaliated, continuously tying the score. Freed-Hardeman gained a seven-point advantage over the Tigers. Despite the Tigers' efforts to downturn their deficit, the Lions won the second set, 25-19.
Campbellsville opened the third set with four straight points over Freed-Hardeman. The Lions struck back with a kill, but a service ace by Merrick and a kill by Shannon furthered the Tigers' upper hand on the game. Camryn Rich and Taylor Thacker's sharp assists to their teammates continued to propel Campbellsville upward. Holding a 14-point advantage over Freed-Hardeman, the Tigers won the third frame, 25-11.
Merrick and Shannon set the fourth frame into motion with ferocious kills, rebutted by the Lions with two kills of their own. McGill collected two ferocious back-to-back kills, increasing Freed-Hardeman's deficit in the match. After a fierce play between the teams in the latter moments of the frame, the Lions took the win over the Tigers, 25-21.
As the match went into the fifth set, the game came to an intense exchange between the teams as both sought to take the win. Shannon, Hager, and McGill all landed tenacious kill-after-kill, clawing the Tigers back up to the leading end of the scoreboard. Morgan Furness kept avid control at the net, blocking the Lions' kills and preventing them from coming close to the lead. At the end of the fifth set, the Tigers took the win, 15-9.
Campbellsville finished the match with a hitting percentage of .261, eight aces, and 9.0 blocks, compared to Freed-Hardeman's .152 hitting percentage, 12 aces, and 5.0 blocks. Shannon led the team with 13 kills and 24 digs, and Rich led with 44 assists.
The Tigers will be back in action, taking the road to Bowling Green on November 9th for the first round of the Mid-South Conference Championship.
