PORTSMOUTH – Volleyball dropped a three-set match to Campbellsville to open a challenging slate, hosting its own Mid-South Crossover weekend. After a tough opening set (25-14). The Bears were edged out in the final two games by scores of 25-21 and 25-23. Shawnee State (18-8, 7-3 MSC) now sits in fifth place overall in the conference, while the Tigers (20-7, 8-2 MSC) remain in second place. However, the Bears will have a quick turnaround to make some of that ground back tomorrow with two more matches.
The Bears killed just seven of their 30 attempts in the opening set and compounded that by committing eight attacking errors. They would gradually gain momentum in each successive set, killing nine attacks in the second and 13 attacks in the third. However, Campbellsville averaged just over 11 kills per set and committed just 15 attacking errors to the Bears' 21. Included in that total was eight attempts that were blocked by the Tigers' front line.
Alex Pohl finished her well-rounded effort with a career-high 19 digs in the match, finishing with at least six in every set. Her previous high in a single match was 12, which she just tied in the most recent match with Pikeville. Pohl also successfully received 22 of the 23 services in her direction. She was also second on the team in kills (6) and finished with a .417 hitting percentage. Pohl was also one of four Bears to record a service ace and tallied the only solo block for SSU on the night.
Ashley Galbraith finished with a team-high seven kills, while Kristi Humble and Tiffany Jackson each tallied four more. Jackson and Kelsey Bielanow also teamed up for two block assists together. Carly Mazza dished out assists on 15 of those kills, including eight during the final set to help try and force another game. Hannah Gephart finished with 10 assists for the match. Eight of those came during the final two sets. She was also the only Bears' player to record two service aces.
In addition to Pohl, Madison Smith also achieved double figures in digs, finishing with 10. Kirsti Yates added nine more. Smith and Yates were also second and third on the team in service receptions, finishing with 18 and 12, respectively.
The Bears now have little time to think about tonight's loss as two more key matches await them tomorrow. They will host University of the Cumberlands in one of the opening matches tomorrow beginning at 11 a.m. They will have the second set of matches off before finishing the weekend with Lindsey Wilson, a team that is currently tied with Campbellsville for second. The Bears can pull even in the loss column with the Blue Raiders with a victory Saturday.
