CAMPBELLSVILLE, KY – Campbellsville earned their first two wins of the season Friday afternoon with a 3-1 win over Life University and a 3-1 win over Marian University.
The first set, the Running Eagles had the upper hand with a 25-22 advantage. Campbellsville kept the points close throughout the set until Life pulled away. The Tigers responded with a big middle portion in set two. They overcame an 8-5 deficit early in the set and pulled ahead by as many as five points at 18-13. Campbellsville won set two 25-20.
Set three, Campbellsville began to assert their dominance over Life. They won set three 25-18 and dominated in set four of the match 25-12 to finish off the first victory of the young 2023 season.
The Tigers had four players in double-digit attacking figures. Both
Cierra Merrick and
Hannah McGill had 15 kills. Merrick had a double-double with 12 digs on her afternoon.
Molly Shannon had 13 kills, and
Brooke Hager finished off with ten.
Camryn Rich put together 51 assists in total in the match and 17 digs.
Marisa Gallardo collected 21 digs in the match.
In the second match of the day, Campbellsville squared off against Marian University. Throughout the first set, it was back and forth between the Knights and the Tigers. Campbellsville opened up a four-point gap midway through the first set at 16-12 and went on to win set one 25-21.
At the start of the second set, coach
Peyton Johnston's team went on a 4-0 run early in the set to push the score to 7-3. In the ladder stages of the second set, Campbellsville gained full control over the Knights. Through the first two sets, Merrick had nine kills, and Rich had 23 assists heading into set three.
The Knights regained momentum in the third set. They took full control of the set from the start and ended up pushing the match to a fourth set with a 25-16 win. That momentum carried over into the fourth set with a 14-9 lead early in the set. Campbellsville responded with an 11-1 run to push it to 20-15 in favor of the Tigers. Johnston's team won the match 3-1 with a 25-20 victory in the fourth set.
Merrick led the way for Campbellsville once again with 12 kills on the night. Rich finished off her impressive day with 87 total assists in two matches. The Tigers tallied 12 total blocks against the Knights, with Hager collecting six.
Campbellsville will return to Gosser Gymnasium on Saturday, September 2nd, for a 3 p.m. first serve against Xavier University of Louisiana.
