Williamsburg, KY – The Patriots opened up Mid-South Conference play on Tuesday against the Tigers of Campbellsville University, who entered the game receiving votes in the NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll and an undefeated record. The Patriots put up a tough fight but fell to Campbellsville 3-1 (22-25, 25-19, 25-23, 26-24). Campbellsville improves to 7-0 overall and 1-0 in the MSC while UC falls to 4-4 overall and 0-1 in conference play.

The first set started in the Tigers' favor as they held a 6-2 lead. Campbellsville began to push away, however UC worked back to tie the match 14-14. After some back-and-forth, the Patriots stole the lead and moved ahead 20-17. This lead proved to be key as Cumberlands continued on to win the first set 25-22.

In the second set, UC continued to battle with Campbellsville as the score was tied up several times. After the Tigers jumped ahead first at 4-2, the Patriots tied it back up at 4-4. The score continued to be exchanged and tied until the Tigers took a 14-12 lead. Cumberlands again followed the trend set earlier and continued to force the tie twice. The Tigers put up four straight points to create a 19-15 lead. This proved to be enough as Campbellsville continued on to win the second set 25-19.

The Patriots had control first in the third set, but the Tigers quickly took over and moved ahead 6-3. Campbellsville pushed ahead 13-10, but UC worked back to take a 14-13 lead. The Tigers put up their own rally to steal back the lead at 19-16. Just like before UC fought back to take control at 21-19. With the Patriots ahead 23-21, Campbellsville gathered four straight points to take the lead and win the set 25-23.

With Campbellsville up two sets to one, UC came alive early in the fourth set with a 4-0 lead. The Patriots pushed ahead to 10-6, but the Tigers managed to tie the match up at 11-11. After multiple ties, Cumberlands managed to take a 19-16 lead. The Patriots continued on to hold the lead but four straight Tiger points brought the Patriot lead to 23-22. Campbellsville went on another four point streak and took the set 26-24 to win the match.

Leading offensively for the Patriots, Mackenzie Koch notched an impressive 17 kills. Koch also recorded four blocks (3 solo and 1 assisted). Jessica Severs contributed with 11 kills, nine digs, two blocks (1 solo and 1 assisted), and an ace. Lynsey Short accumulated 42 assists, eight digs, and three kills. Megan Jackson earned nine kills, four aces, and four blocks (two solo and one assisted). Tara Routliffe had 22 digs in the match while Megan Willoughby had 15.

The Patriots will be back on the court Friday, September 8 in Dayton, TN for another match against the Lyons of Bryan College. UC took the win against Bryan last week on August 29 by a 3-0 score. First serve on Friday is set for 7 pm.

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