BUIES CREEK, N.C.-Campbell volleyball opens Atlantic Sun
competition in Florida with a pair of contests against Stetson and
Florida Gulf Coast. The Fighting Camels' tour of the Sunshine State
will begin in DeLand, as they battle the Hatters, then move on to
Ft. Myers, where the squad will meet the Eagles.
Having faced Stetson once
already this year, the Fighting Camels are hoping to avenge a 3-0
(30-13; 30-28; 30-24) loss.
In the teams' previous
matchup at the Charleston Southern Invitational on Sept. 1, the
Hatters connected early and often, hitting .282, out-knocking the
Camels, who attacked with a .150 percentage.
In the loss, freshman
outside hitter Emily Werner collected a double-double on 15 kills
and ten digs, while a trio of Hatters, Beth Slabaugh, Rebecca
Orzechowicz and Gina Iacona accounted for 31 of the team's 41
kills.
Both teams fell, 3-0, in
their last outings, with High Point downing the Camels on Monday,
Sept. 17, while UAB took care of the Hatters. Currently, each squad
finds itself in the middle of the A-Sun standings, with CU holding
at 6-9 and Stetson at 5-8 on the year. The Camels have faired
slightly better in recent play, going 2-3 in their last five, while
the Hatters own a 1-4 mark.
All-time, the Camels
boast an 8-4 record against the Hatters, taking last year's meeting
with a 3-2 decision in Buies Creek.
Have never faced Florida
Gulf Coast, the Fighting Camels will head into Ft. Myers on
Saturday to battle with the first-place Eagles.
After dropping their
first contest of the year to TCU, the Eagles have reeled off nine
straight, their last coming against James Madison,
3-0.
The Eagles, in their
first full Division I season, lead the conference in virtually
every category as a team, including hitting percentage (.317),
kills (15.68) and assists per game (14.24). Six Eagles find
themselves in the A-Sun's top ten for hitting percentage, with Cara
Ziegler topping the list at .448.
The Fighting Camels also
can find themselves on several conference lists, including the top
spot for aces per game (2.63). Nationally, Campbell sits just out
of the top ten, holding strong in the 11th spot.
Freshman outside hitter Taylor Deering, arguably the A-Sun's top
freshmen, currently stands 42nd on the national charts,
with 0.61 aces per game.
After the two-match road
trip, the Fighting Camels will go to Gardner-Webb on Sept. 29, for
a 2 p.m. matchup.
