2016 Cougar Volleyball came to a close on Friday afternoon at the NCCAA National Tournament as they were defeated in the semifinal match to Campbellsville University.
 
The Cougs had two games on the second day of the tournament. CCU claimed first in their pool play with a win against the #4 seed Trinity Christian. The match went to four sets with CCU winning the first, second, and fourth sets. The Cougars were challenged by the Trolls scrappy defense in the back row. Trinity's libero #3 Michelle Busscher was unstoppable in the back with 33 digs in the four sets. Besides Busscher, CCU was able to shut down the Trolls game plan and strong hitters.
 
Leading for Christian was right side hitter Sophia Proano with 16 kills and then middle hitter Angela Jurek who had three solo blocks and six block assists. CCU's Taylor Sturms had a high of 16 digs in the back and 12 kills earning a double-double.
 
After the win, CCU was set to play Campbellsville University in the semifinal match. Campbellsville came into the tournament ranked second, right behind the Cougs with a record of 29-13. The match-up was incredibly equal. Both squads had a dominate right side hitter, good serve-receive, and both were tough from the service line.
 
Christian won the first set 25-17. The Tigers came back and won the second and third sets, which caused Christian to have urgency on their side of the court. The Trolls' strength was in their placement of the ball. The Tigers played the ball very well against Christian hitting short and deep shots, mixing it up every attempt. Christian came back with power house hitting from the middle and won the fourth set 25-22. The fifth set was in CCU's hand at 14-11, but Campbellsville chipped their way back into the game as it went into extra points. CCU lost the fifth 19-17.
 
Middle hitters Hope Baldrica and Angela Jurek played all out offense and defense with seven blocks each against Campbellsville. Jurek had a team high of 17 kills, with only two errors off 30 attempts. Right behind Jurek was senior outside hitter #3 Taylor Sturms. Sturms had 16 kills against the Tigers and 20 digs.
 
The All-American athlete played in her final match against Campbellsville University and had her 2000^th kill this weekend. Taylor Sturms leads CCU Volleyball History in attack attempts, games played, kills, and digs.
 
Head Coach Andria Harshman commented:

"We played a phenomenal match point for point with a very tough competitor this evening!  I am so incredibly proud of this group of ladies and all we've accomplished this year. We are so proud of Taylor Sturms and Mollie Bailey and their incredible careers helping lead this program to a winning season.  Even though we came up a few points short, we know that all the glory is the Lord's and everything that we have accomplished and not accomplished this season belongs to Him. I wish our seniors the best in their future and so thankful for their investment to this program. CCU volleyball is on the upswing and we are looking forward to what we are going to do in the RMAC in the future!"