Williamsburg, KY – UC Volleyball overcame an early deficit to defeat Cumberland University 3-1 (18-25, 25-15, 25-23, 25-17) Tuesday night at the UC Volleyball Gym. With the win the Patriots extend their win streak to four and improves to 11-8 overall and 4-4 in the MSC, while the Phoenix fall to 11-11 on the year and 2-6 in conference. This win also puts Head Coach
Kathryn Hart as the second winningest coach at UC with a 98-53 record.
The first set started as a back-and-forth battle for the lead with UC coming out on top 5-3. The Patriots would extend their lead to 7-5, before Cumberland rallied for five straight points to steal the lead at 10-7. UC took the next point, but the Phoenix took the next seven points for a 17-8 lead. Cumberlands took the next four of six points, however the Phoenix still held the lead at 19-12. Cumberland continued to push away from UC with a 23-14 lead, UC then rallied for three points to shorten the Phoenix lead to 23-17. This wouldn't be enough though as Cumberland would take the next two of three points for a 25-18 first set win.
In the second set, the Phoenix took a 2-1 lead, but the Patriots bounced back with five straight points to steal the lead at 6-2. From there, points were traded however UC continued to push away from the Phoenix with a 13-8 lead. Both teams continued to battle for the set win, but UC kept control with an 18-12 lead. After Cumberland took the next two points, the Patriots rallied for six straight points for a 24-14 lead. The Phoenix won the next point, but UC earned the final point to win the second set 25-15.
The Phoenix came out strong in the third straight with five straight points for a 5-0 lead. UC took the next nine of ten points and stole the lead at 9-6. Cumberland U worked back to tie the match at 9-9 and the trend continued until the Phoenix held the 12-11 lead. The Patriots put together another rally with four straight points to take back the lead at 15-12. The Phoenix then had their own string of five points to retake the lead at 17-15. UC tallied four of the next six points to retake the lead at 20-19. The lead would continue to be traded until the Patriots scored three straight points to win the third set 25-23.
The fourth set began with each team battling for the lead as the match was tied early at 6-6. UC broke the tie with four points to take a 10-6 lead. The Patriots would continue to pull away from the Phoenix with a 17-10 lead. Cumberland managed to shorten the lead to 19-15, however UC extended their lead to 22-16. The Phoenix took the next point, before UC managed to win the final three points to win the match and set 25-17.
Leading offensively,
Jessica Severs tallied 11 kills while
Mackenzie Koch had eight of her own.
Jennifer Stein had a career-high of three service aces in the match as Severs,
Megan Jackson, and Tara Routlffe each contributed two.
Lynsey Short had 29 assists on the night. Routliffe gathered a career-high of 29 digs in the match, Stein also contributed her own career-high of 14 digs. Jackson notched two solo blocks while Koch had a solo block and an assisted block.
The Patriots will return to the court on Wednesday, October 11, for another MSC match against the Blue Raiders of Lindsey Wilson. The last matchup between the two came on September 28 when the Blue Raiders took the match in three sets. First serve is set for 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
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