BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — The Campbellsville Tigers won the latest Battle of Highway 55 in thrilling fashion, taking down the #2 seed Lindsey Wilson Blue Raiders in four sets to punch their ticket to the Mid-South Conference Championship.
- The Tigers punched their ticket to the MSC Championship final with a thrilling four-set victory over the #2 seed Lindsey Wilson Blue Raiders (25-19, 25-19, 21-25, 31-29).
- Elif Akcivi posted a monster double-double to lead the way, finishing with a match-high 18 kills and 16 digs.
- Kati Vest recorded a double-double of her own with 46 assists and 13 digs.
- Maddie Pennington stuffed the stat sheet with four assists, two aces, and 19 digs.
- Sophie Hill and Emily Aabye were crucial to the offense, each recording 10 kills, with Hill hitting an efficient .208.
- After dropping the third set, Campbellsville showed incredible resilience in the fourth, fighting off multiple set points to win a 31-29 marathon.
Lindsey Wilson scored first to open the match, but
Emily Aabye quickly answered with back-to-back kills to ignite the Tigers' offense.
Claire Hammond added an ace as Campbellsville surged ahead, forcing the Blue Raiders to burn a timeout trailing 12–7. The Tigers continued to apply pressure, extending their lead to nine points. Lindsey Wilson made a late push, but Campbellsville closed strong to claim the first set 25–19.
The Tigers carried that momentum into the second, racing out to a 3–0 start, punctuated by a
Maddie Pennington service ace. Despite an early timeout by the Blue Raiders, the Tigers kept rolling. Lindsey Wilson inched within one point at 18-17, but
Elif Akcivi and the Tigers' offense responded, and an Aabye kill sealed another 25–19 set win to put CU up 2–0.
Hoping to finish the sweep, Campbellsville opened the third set with a block from
Riley Thorne and
Sophie Hill.
Kati Vest added an ace to force another Lindsey Wilson timeout at 12-6. This time, the Blue Raiders responded with renewed energy, battling back to tie the set at 18. Momentum swung their way late, and they extended the match with a 25–21 third-set victory.
In the fourth, Campbellsville struck first again.
Olivia Hellman fired an ace to push the lead to 14–9, prompting a Lindsey Wilson timeout. The Blue Raiders rallied late, eventually tying the frame at 24. What followed was an electric back-and-forth battle, with neither team willing to give an inch. In the defining moments, the Tigers held their composure and, with the score tied 29-29, won the final two points on Lindsey Wilson errors to win the set 31–29 and secure their spot in the conference final.
Campbellsville advances to face the undefeated #1 seed University of the Cumberlands in the MSC Championship on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET.
