CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – The (RV) Tigers sought to rebound against (RV) Mount Vernon Nazarene Saturday afternoon after faltering in both of their home contests the day before. After succumbing to a two-set deficit, the Tigers' rally wasn't quite enough as they lost in five frames.
Neither team posted an exemplary hitting percentage in the opening set. Errors set the Tigers apart though, as they amassed only a .031 percentage.
Diego Betancourt was the lead setter with six assists but
Andrew Steinmetz off the bench was a spark with five effective dishes of his own. The Cougars took the set 25-21.
Set two was one Campbellsville would like to soon put behind them, losing 25-12. They collected a negative kill percentage and Mount Vernon Nazarene was stuffing their attempts at the net time and time again. In the first two sets alone, the Cougars blocked the Tigers ten times.
The Tigers refused to go down without a fight, however. The third frame proved to pivotal as Campbellsville avoided Mount Vernon Nazarene at the net and began to see their balls strike the floor more often. Also, the Tigers themselves began to stuff the Cougars' attempts with
Alvaro Grande,
JoVeaun Banks,
Leonel Fernandez, and
Jariel Diaz combining for ten blocks up to that point. The frame went extra points, but Campbellsville prevented the sweep, 29-27.
Campbellsville didn't seem satisfied to only win a single set though. They continued to strive for more effectiveness from their hitting and from their defense. In set four, both teams were jostling for control and bounced between leading and losing all frame long. Ultimately, the Tigers, behind increasingly potent kills from
Jakob Zum Kolk, John Marcos-Gonzalez, and Diaz, captured the advantage and sent the match into the fifth and decisive set.
The shortened frame sustained the intensity from the two sets prior, resulting in a close one. But it seemed Mount Vernon Nazarene had just enough consistency to put Campbellsville away, 15-13.
The Tigers' final numbers were impacted from a less-than-stellar opening two sets. Still, Zum Kolk led the way with 14 kills,
Andres Laboy had a team-high 12 digs, and Betancourt put up 37 assists. Diaz ended as the second-leading killer with nine, while also garnering the highest hitting percentage of any Tiger who took more than 20 attacks (.250) and putting up seven blocks.
Next up for Campbellsville is a conference match-up against the Georgetown Tigers. That game will be Tuesday, February 21
st at 7 p.m. ET.
