CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – The Campbellsville Tigers took on the Running Eagles of Life University and the Crimson Wave of Calumet College of St. Joseph on Saturday afternoon. On the second day of the pod, the Tigers won in four sets over Life University and fell to Calumet College in four sets.
GAME ONE: Campbellsville 3, Life 1
To begin the first set, an attack error by the Running Eagles put the Tigers on the scoreboard first. The game went point-for-point early on in the set, with neither team being able to get a big separation. Service errors and kills gave the Running Eagles the lead, 10-8. The Tigers answered with a kill and an ace by John-Marcos Gonzalez, tying the game at 13-13. Campbellsville was able to get back in front in this first set, scoring four unanswered points. A monster block by David Barcan and a kill from Neels Paugels extended the lead for the Tigers, 24-20. A kill from Gonzalez put Campbellsville over the Running Eagles, winning the first set 25-20.
The Tigers came out hot in the second set, scoring four straight points. Life didn't see any points on their side of the scoreboard until two service errors from Campbellsville. The Running Eagles fought back, tying the set at 6-6. Much like the first set, neither team could gain an advantage over the other. With a block, the Running Eagles took a 12-11 lead over the Tigers. Kills by Gonzalez and Joao Tavarez pushed Campbellsville back to the lead, 15-14. Costly Service errors by the Tigers allowed Life to hang in the set. An attack error by the Running Eagles and a kill from Paugels helped the Tigers extend their lead over Life, 20-17. The Running Eagles fought back in the set, tying at 24-24. The set went into extra points after Life tied the game 25-25. The Tigers outlasted Life, winning the second set 27-25.
The Tigers brought the same intensity in the third set, coming out of the gates and accounting for two kills early. Life matched that intensity, scoring four unanswered points to take an early 9-5 lead. Campbellsville answered back by tallying a kill by Paugels. Multiple attack errors by the Running Eagles brought the Tigers back, cutting their lead to just two points. Kill-after-kill from Life and mental errors by Campbellsville helped Life extend their lead, 14-10. Another massive block by Barcan brought the Tigers back to tie the set at 15-15. A kill from Gaston Barrionuevo helped Campbellsville rally to tie the set at 19-19. The Running Eagles quickly took a three-point lead, 23-20. A kill from Tavares and a block by Paugels tied the set at 23-23. The Tigers tried to rally back, but it wasn't enough to defeat the Running Eagles. Life took the third set, winning 26-24.
Set four got off to a fast start with four lead changes. Two kills by Paugels helped Campbellsville take an early 10-8 lead. The Tigers kept their foot on the gas, extending their lead to 15-9. Kills from Tavares and Gonzalez kept Campbellsville ahead of Life, 18-10. Life wasn't going down without a fight, scoring five unanswered points and cutting the lead to four. Paugels earned his 15th kill of the match, putting Campbellsville in the lead 23-16. Paugels gave Campbellsville their final point with a block, winning 25-20.
The Tigers were led by Paugels with 16 kills, followed by Gonazalez with 13. Alonzo Vega led with 46 assists. Campbellsville led in many statistical categories over Life: points (70-59), kills (54-45), hitting percentage (.264-.132), solo block (5-2), and digs (47-43).
GAME TWO: Campbellsville 1, Calumet 3
A big block by Denzel Madrigal started the Tigers off in set one, followed by a kill by JoVeaun Banks to give Campbellsville an early 2-0 lead. The Crimson Wave stormed back, scoring five straight points by kills. Denzel Madrigal was on fire in the early stint of the set, tallying three kills and a block. Calumet took another lead in the first set, their most significant lead being 14-12, but the Tigers were fortunate to have two attack errors by the Crimson Wave to bring the lead down to 16-15. The Tigers struggled to score halfway through the set, falling behind 22-17. The momentum shifted in favor of the Tigers late in the set, trying to claw back but ultimately losing 25-22.
Campbellsville started set two on fire with kills from Paugels and Diego Antunez. Campbellsville kept building on their lead, extending it to eight points with three more kills by Madrigal and service errors by the Crimson Wave, 16-7. Calumet rallied back, adding some points of their own. A dominating performance by the Tigers gave Campbellsville a ten-point lead, 23-13. The Tigers outlasted the Crimson Wave, winning in set two, 25-17.
The Crimson Wave started the third set with a service error, giving the Tigers the first point. Calumet pulled away from the Tigers, taking a 15-9 lead. Campbellsville fell behind with multiple attack errors. Late in the third set, the Tigers scored five unanswered points and cut the Crimson Waves' lead down to 23-18. The Crimson Wave took set three, 25-18.
Calumet took the first point to begin the fourth set. The Crimson Wave took an early lead over the Tiger, 7-2. Kills by Paugels and a service ace by Eli Ortiz cut into the lead, 10-8. The Crimson Wave increased their lead to 15-8. The Tigers worked to cut the lead down to s points late in the fourth set, 18-14. Campbellsville's attempt to return to the lead wasn't enough, falling 25-18.
The Tigers were led by Madrigal with 14 kills, followed by Trevor Gruner with 12 kills. Aleksa Plevaljcic led with 27 assists. Despite falling to the Crimson Wave, Campbellsville led with 47 kills to their 45, four aces to their three, and 43 assists to their 42.
The Campbellsville Tigers will be on the road to Laurinburg, North Carolina, to take on Lees-McRae College on Friday, March 8th. The match is set to begin at 4:30 p.m. ET.
