MARIETTA, Ga.- The (RV) Tigers took the road to battle the Life University Eagles on Friday. Despite the tight score during the last set, Campbellsville managed to claw their way to victory, 3-2.
The first set began with an even exchange of kills from both teams, continuously tying the score and stealing the lead from one another. Denzel Madrigal and JoVeaun Banks' kills propelled the Tigers to the lead, holding a five-point advantage over the Eagles. Life's errors remained their demise as Campbellsville continued to claw their way up the lead. Andres Laboy, Pedro Zavatini, Aleksa Plevaljcic assists closed the first set with a win, 25-17.
Much like the first, the score remained pretty tight in the opening of the second frame. The Eagles quickly racked up kill after kill to steal the lead from the Tigers. Although Campbellsville managed to retaliate with a couple of kills, it was not enough to catch up with Life. At the end of the second set, Life took the win with the Tigers trailing by ten points, 25-15.
The Eagles got ahold of the lead early into the third set. However, Madrigal and Gonzalez quickly struck back with avid kills, bringing Campbellsville ahead of Life. The match quickly became a game of back and forth, tying the score and stealing the lead from each other time after time. Despite the tight gap in the score, the Tigers took the third set, 25-23.
Although the fourth frame began with both teams only one or two points away from each other. However, the Eagles capitalized off a few errors from Campbellsville to widen the Tigers' deficit on the scoreboard. Campbellsville made it within a couple of points from Life, but the Eagles reopened the gap on the score and won the fourth set, 25-18.
The tension on the court was palpable as the fifth set started, with both teams seeking the win in the final frame of the match. For most of the set, the score remained tied, with neither team managing to keep a stronghold on the lead. Mason McKinney and Trevor Gruner came on the court with avid kills, but Life swiftly counteracted their efforts with kills of their own. The game continued to extend, with neither team being able to expand the other's deficit to take the victory. However, with a block by Plevaljcic and Banks, the Tigers took the fifth set, 22-20.
Campbellsville finished the match with a hitting percentage of .224 and 8.0 blocks, compared to Life's .268 hitting percentage and 11.0 blocks. Madrigal led the Tigers with 17 kills, Laboy with 12 digs, and Plevaljcic with 35 assists.
The Tigers will be back in action, Saturday, March 23rd, on their second day in Georgia, battling the Warner University Royals and the Reinhardt University Eagles, beginning at 1:30 and 4 p.m. ET.
