OWENSBORO, Ky.- The Tigers took the road to battle the Brescia University Bearcats on Tuesday night. After falling to Brescia in the third set, Campbellsville clawed up to the win, 3-1.
The first set began with an even exchange of kills, tying the score time and time again. A couple of errors from the Tigers boosted the Bearcats upward, taking the lead. Alvaro Grande and JoVeaun Banks' fierce kills stole the advantage from Brescia. Campbellsville strongly capitalized on the Bearcats' attack errors to win the first set, 25-22.
The Tigers opened the second set with an early lead, only letting Brescia get one kill in their favor. Although the Bearcats scored a couple more points in their favor, Gaston Barrionuevo and John-Marcos Gonzalez's kills remained too strong for them to overcome, continuing to expand Campbellsville's advantage. Both teams capitalized on each other's errors, but only the Tigers came out victorious, 25-19.
Much like the second frame, the third set began with Campbellsville in the lead. Brescia attempted to retaliate with a handful of agile kills, but the Tigers continued to benefit from their errors to preserve their upper hand. The score tied at ten, and Campbellsville restored their lead to five points over the Bearcats. Brescia continued to catch up with the Tigers, surpassing the 25-point mark on the scoreboard. With an attack error from Campbellsville, the Bearcats won the third set, 27-25.
The fourth set came to a slow start, with the score tied at every kill, and neither team could get ahold of the lead. Banks and Neely Paugels propelled the Tigers forward, growing Brescia's deficit. Campbellsville capitalized from the Bearcats' errors and built momentum to land kill after kill and win the last set, 25-20.
The Tigers finished the match with a hitting percentage of .310 and 4.0 blocks, compared to the Bearcats' .222 hitting percentage and 7.0 blocks. Gonzalez led Campbellsville with 20 kills, Andres Laboy with 26 digs, and Matheus Curri with 51 assists.
The Tigers will be back in action, hosting the Midway University Eagles on Wednesday, February 21, beginning at 7 p.m. ET for their home opener game.
