Valparaiso, Ind. – Campbell fell to both Northern Illinois and Valparaiso Friday at the Popcorn Classic. The Camels dropped the NIU match in four and the nightcap against the hosts in five.
The losses drop the Camels to 1-4 on the young season. Campbell will look to get back into the win column tomorrow against SIU Edwardsville.
Match One Recap
Campbell dropped a tight first set 27-25. Cook, Paige and Wolkow all notched three kills in the first set, while Paige did so on just three attacks. After trading points most of the way, a service error and setting error turned into the final two point for the Huskies in the opening frame.
NIU doubled its advantage with a 25-19 win in the second. Campbell fell behind 6-1 early and was never able to fully overcome the early deficit. The Camels fought back to tie it at 17-17, but the Huskies closed with an 8-2 run to clinch the set.
Campbell held off defeat for a set with a 25-23 third set victory. Things looked bleak for the Camels at 18-13, but a kill from Converse and a block from Clent and Cook kickstarted a run that got the Camels right back into the mix. Abby Tuyo picked a good time for her first kill of the match with the final point of the third.
The Huskies were able to finish off the match with a 25-19 win in the fourth to win the match 3-1.
Cook collected her second double-double of the season with 10 kills and a career-high 14 digs. It's her third straight match with double-digit kills.
Melody Paige joined her with 10 kills along with eight blocks, one shy of a career high.
Match Two Recap
Campbell took an early advantage with a 26-24 win in the first. It was neck-and-neck the whole way, with no lead extending to more than one point until Valpo went up 21-10. At 24-23,
Greg Goral called a useful timeout that resulted in three straight points for the Camels to take the set.
The second set was just as close as the first with Valpo coming out on top 25-23 to even the score. Campbell trailed 20-15 and clawed back to cut it to 21-20, but couldn't complete the comeback in the frame.
It was all Camels in the third as they took a 2-1 advantage with a 25-22 win. The Camels grabbed a lead at 11-10 and would not trail again. Wolkow found her groove late and finished off the set with a trio of kills for each of Campbell's last three points.
The Beacons claimed the momentum for the final two sets, forcing a deciding set with the largest win of the day at 25-20 in the fourth. It was then all Beacons in the final set, jumping out to a 6-0 lead early en route to a 15-10 final.
Cook notched another double-double with 16 kills and 12 digs. A handful of career-highs were set during the match. Paige tied her career-high with nine blocks, Mitter and Sciacca dished out career highs with 30 and 23 assists, respectively, and Wolkow posted 12 kills.
Up Next
Campbell wraps up its time in Indiana against SIU Edwardsville tomorrow at 3 p.m.
