MILWAUKEE, Wis. — The Tigers turned around their attack against the Cardinal Stritch Wolves Friday afternoon, winning in four sets.
Campbellsville entered the contest third in the NAIA in errors, something they have honed in on to curb. Fortunately for them, they were also fifth in block assists. In their victories on the season, their defense had been able to mitigate their offensive shortcomings. Friday, they wouldn't have to worry about either. Their attack was efficient and electric from the get-go. The Tigers converted .308 of their hits into kills in the first set, well above their season average of .182.
Jakob Zum Kolk had four kills and just behind him was
John-Marcos Gonzalez and
Denzel Madrigal both with three, as Campbellsville took it 25-19.
The second frame saw a bit of regression as the Tigers tallied 11 errors and contacted the floor on just .033 of their attempts. The Wolves won that one, 25-17. That was a junction point for Campbellsville. Instead of continuing to suffer the inefficiencies that have plagued them in their losses on the season, instead they rallied and returned to what had worked in the opening set. In the third, they approached their initial hitting percentage, climbing back up to .231. However, it was their defense that stood out for them, holding Cardinal Stritch to a .059 kill conversion. After the third set's 25-20 victory, the fourth frame proved to be Campbellsville's most-efficient of the season. They converted a massive .625 of their hits into points whilst limiting the Wolves again to a less-than-stellar .158 percentage. The Tigers concluded the match to the tune of a 25-13 ender.
When all was said and done, Campbellsville had ten aces to Cardinal Stritch's three. They had 40 digs compared to the Wolves' 27 and both teams had 21 errors. Zum Kolk led with 16 kills, Betancourt had 29 assists, and
Fernand Morales dug up a team-high 16 balls.
The Tigers waste little time hitting the court again as they prepare to take on the Saint Xavier Cougars on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET.
