ST. LOUIS, Mo.- On Friday, the Tigers took the road to Missouri to battle the Missouri Baptist University Spartans and the University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy Eutectics. Campbellsville finished their first day in Missouri with one victory and one loss.
GAME ONE: CAMPBELLSVILLE 0, MISSOURI BAPTIST 3
The Spartans got the first kill of the game. However, their early hold on the lead was short-lived; a service error quickly tied the score. In the next few minutes of the set, both teams kept going back and forth, tying the lead over and over again. Missouri Baptist got ahold of the lead, leaving the Tigers trailing. However, with kills by Aleksa Mandic, Gaston Barrionuevo, and Joao Tavares, Campbellsville did not fall too far behind. Despite the Tigers' attempts to claw their way up to catch up with the Spartans, they lost the first set, 25-18.
Campbellsville caught an early lead on the frame. John-Marcos Gonzalez and Denzel Madrigal's kills propelled them a few points ahead of Missouri Baptist. However, the Spartans swiftly caught up and stole the advantage. Campbellsville's attack errors remained their demise, continuing to increase their deficit in the scoreboard to 10 points. At the end of the second set, the Tigers lost 25-15.
In the opening stages of the game, both teams continuously tied the score, neither team being able to grasp the advantage. Mandic and Neels Paugels' kills clawed Campbellsville up to the lead. The Tigers strongly capitalized off Missouri Baptist's errors to expand their advantage on the scoreboard. The Spartans rapidly stole the upper-hand from Campbellsville, but the Tigers did not falter at the sight of struggle and stayed only a point behind the lead. However, with a fierce kill, Missouri Baptist took the third set, 25-23.
The Tigers finished the match with a hitting percentage of .053 and 4.0 blocks, compared to the Spartans' .431 hitting percentage and 7.0 blocks. Paugels led Campbellsville with six kills, Andres Laboy with 12 digs, and Alonzo Vega with 14 assists.
GAME TWO: CAMPBELLSVILLE 3, HEALTH SCIENCES & PHARMACY 0
The Eutectics opened the first frame with a service ace. However, their early advantage did not prevail, as Tavares and Laboy's kills propelled the Tigers forward. Health Sciences & Pharmacy tied the score at nine, but Campbellsville did not allow them to get any farther ahead on the scoreboard, keeping the Eutectics trailing by a few points. At the end of the first set, the Tigers took the win, 25-17.
Paugels began the second frame with an agile kill. The following minutes of the set consisted of steady back and forth between Campbellsville and Health Sciences & Pharmacy, tying the score and fiercely battling for the upper-hand. The tension on the court was palpable as the lead only stood one point away from Health Sciences & Pharmacy, driving Campbellsville to take a timeout in hopes of stealing the advantage. Madrigal and Paugels came into the court with compelling kills, tying the score at 24 and bringing the Eutectics to also call another timeout, only increasing the competitiveness between the teams. With a kill and an attack error in their favor, the Tigers won the second set, 26-24.
Campbellsville got the first three straight points of the frame, building momentum from the beginning seconds of the third set. The Tigers amplified their advantage with Health Sciences & Pharmacy's errors in their favor. The Eutectics attempted to retaliate with avid kills, but the Tigers did not falter, capitalizing off kills of their own. Tavares' blocks prevented Campbellsville from losing control of the lead. Vega agilely passed the ball to his fellow Tigers, resulting in kill after kill from JoVeaun Banks and Trevor Gruner, adding to their upper-hand. Health Sciences & Pharmacy struck back, boosting their offense but not enough to catch up with Campbellsville, resulting in a victory for the Tigers, 25-23.
The Tigers finished the match with a hitting percentage of .340 and 3.0 blocks, compared to the Eutectics' .202 hitting percentage and 4.0 blocks. Paugels led Campbellsville with 13 kills, Laboy with 19 digs, and Vega with 22 assists.
The Tigers will be back in action tomorrow, Saturday, February 24th, to go against the Fontbonne University Griffins beginning at 2 p.m. ET on their second day in St. Louis, Missouri.
