PRINCESS ANNE, MD. – In its second game of the day, Campbell defeated Rider, 3-2 (25-19, 25-21, 22-25, 25-18), at the Best Western Wild Weekend. Redshirt junior Alexis Hein recorded a career-high 20 kills (.314 attack pct.) to lead the Camels.
"Lexi (Hein) and Katelyn (Layden) had big swings for us, so I was pleased with both of them," commented head coach Greg Goral. " I liked how our defense responded and helped us get transition points."
Freshman Summer Schuitema set up 37 CU kills, adding seven digs and five kills of her own. Junior Mary Crema led the defense with 24 digs, and junior Katelyn Layden and sophomore Jenny Tait notched three blocks apiece; Layden also contributed 13 kills at a .382 attack percentage.
"I felt good with how we started and controlled sets one and two," Goral said. "I felt the team responded and executed better than our first game today, and didn't let Rider get on any runs."
In the first set, the score was knotted at 11 before the Camels (6-7) used a five-point jump to lead 16-11, on the back of kills from Hein, Tait, and freshman McKenzie Fell.
Later in the set, the Broncs (3-7) scored three straight to narrow the CU lead, 21-19. However, the Camels closed out the set on four points in a row on kills from Fell and Hein and two service aces from redshirt senior Jessica Groen, and CU went up 1-0 with the 25-19 set win.
In the second set, the teams were even to 16, including rallies from both teams. The Camels distanced themselves from the Broncs with three-straight points, using kills from Layden, Schuitema, and freshman Amelia Armstrong, to lead 19-16.
The teams traded three points, but Campbell took control and finished the set on three points, including two aces from Armstrong, as the Camels led 2-0 after the 25-20 set win.
Like the previous sets, the game played back and forth until the teams were knotted at 14. This time, Rider took the lead with four points in a row to go up 18-14.
The Camels answered with two points, but the Broncs were resilient and went on a five-point tear to lead 23-16.
Campbell mustered one final run, this time six points using Fell, Layden, and Groen kills to close the gap to 23-22, but it wasn't enough as Rider registered two kills to take the 25-22 lead, and stay alive 2-1.
"When we were down in game four, we just responded well and started serving more effectively," continued Goral.
Once again, the two sides played evenly to 14 in the fourth set. Campbell went on a 7-1 sprint to take the 21-15 lead. The Camels registered three kills and Armstrong posted an ace in the run.
Each team tacked on three more points, the Camels holding steady with the 24-18 lead. Campbell clinched the 25-18 set win and 3-1 match win on a Rider attack error.
Campbell posted a .262 attack percentage with 62 kills on 55 assists. Rider's offense produced 53 kills on 49 assists (.242 pct.) Defensively, both teams tallied 74 dogs apiece, while Campbell out-blocked Rider 10-9,
The Camels return to the tournament Saturday, taking on Binghamton at 2 p.m. and UMES at 6 p.m.
