The Campbellsville University Lady Tigers Volleyball team clinched the title of NCCAA
National Champions last week in Kissimmee, Fla. Team members pictured in the front
row, from left, are: Caroline Martin, Brooke Marcum, Shannon Cahill, Caitlin Dresing,
Lilian Dasilva, Jovana Koprivicia and Lilian Odek. Second row: Assistant Coach Amy
Eckenfels, Whitney Haynes, Coach Randy LeBleu, Renee Netherton, Samatha James and Christiana
Sindelar. In back is trainer Jim Nichols.
They say a picture is worth 1,000 words. For Campbellsville University senior Renee
Netherton, a championship is worth 1,000 kills. Netherton eclipsed the 1,000 kill
mark in her final career match and turned a 23-23 third set into a 25-23 NCCAA National
Championship with back-to-back kills to sweep top-seed Mount Vernon Nazarene, 3-0,
Saturday in Kissimmee, Fla.
“I'm a little nervous to take my uniform off, because once I do it's over,” Netherton
said. “I'm excited we went out so strong. It's such a great feeling to be able to
picture that last hit in my head. That's going to stay with me forever.”
Netherton, who was named an NCCAA First Team All-American, finished the match with
nine kills - her high for the tournament. She entered the match needing seven kills
to reach 1,000. Six of her nine came in the final game.
To add to the milestones, the win was a record 38th in a season for the CU volleyball
program and Campbellsville's first-ever national championship for any team at any
level.
“It's a great swan song to a great season. We're excited to win the first one for
the school. Regardless of it being the NCCAA or the NAIA, it's hard to win,” head
coach Randy LeBleu said. “The girls had a will to go out with a bang. The closeness
of them the last month has been great.”
Campbellsville put away nine aces to jump out to a 2-0 lead in the match. Senior Whitney
Haynes led the team with three aces, while Christiana Sindelar had two and four others
each had one.
“We served really well. A couple of girls really stepped up on their serves. We kept
the ball away and took their middle out. We knew if we could keep it just to the outside
hitters, we could shut them down,” LeBleu said.
CU utilized its outside, as Samantha James started outside after Brooke Marcum went
down in the semifinal. James led CU in the final with 12 kills, three blocks and an
ace. Tournament MVP Shannon Cahill had seven kills and 17 digs.
“Shannon had a good tournament. Everyone here saw her defense this week and that when
a ball needs to be put down, she'll put it down,” LeBleu said. “But I can't say enough
about Caroline Martin. She played great defense through the tournament, throwing her
body around to dig balls that should have been points. She was also very energetic
- a real floor leader for us at setter.”
Martin, who had 14 digs in the final, had 36 set assists in the championship, bringing
her six-match tournament total to 223 and an average of 11.15 per set. She, along
with Cahill, was named to the All-Tournament team.
In a tournament of defensive highs for CU, Haynes closed out her four years with a
career-high 23 digs in the championship. She also had seven kills. Freshman Caitlin
Dresing had 12.
