Lebanon, TN – UC Volleyball team extended their win streak to four straight match after notching a pair of wins on day one of the Phoenix Classic. The Patriots defeated Union 3-1 (25-18, 25-22, 23-25, 25-14) before sweeping Tennessee Wesleyan 3-0 (25-18, 25-14, 25-17) to improve to 20-10 on the season.

Lily Chapman got her day started by recording a career-high 19 kills against Union. The Patriots jumped out to a 7-1 start in the opening set, as Abbie Gender tallied a pair of kills and a block.  Union cut the lead to 11-6 before Chapman notched back-to-back kills as part of a 3-0 to give UC a 14-6 advantage.  The two teams traded points until Cumberlands tallied five straight points, capped off with three aces by Chapman to take a 22-12 lead.  A few points later Lynsey Short connected with Megan Jackson for a kill to give UC the set 25-18.

The Patriots carried the momentum into the second set as they jumped out to a 4-0 lead.  After Union evened the score at 4-4, the Patriots added a 3-0 run to take a 7-4 advantage and lead which they wouldn't relinquish during the set. Short found Genders, Mackenzie Koch, and Chapman for kills to help the Patriots extend their lead to 14-10.  Union cut the lead to 17-15, before Koch tallied a kill as part of a 7-2 run to give Cumberlands a 24-17 lead.  The Bulldogs recorded five straight points however Short hooked up with Chapman for a kill to close out the set 25-22 and give UC a 2-0 lead.

Union would go on to take the third set 25-22 to cut the lead to 2-1 and force a fourth set. In the fourth set, the Bulldogs took an early 8-4 lead. Cumberlands answered with a 7-1 run, which included kills by four different Patriots, to take an 11-9 lead.  UC added another 4-0 run, before the teams traded points giving the Patriots an 18-14 lead.  Cumberlands recorded six unanswered points to take the set 25-14 and match 3-1.

Chapman finished the match with a .515 attacking percentage, three aces, and five digs.  Koch added 13 kills, while Genders tallied 12 kills, seven digs, and three blocks.  Short dished out 38 assists, a season-high six kills, and ten digs for her six double-double of the season. 

Against Tennessee Wesleyan, Short notched her third straight double-double, while Tara Routliffe recorded 13 digs to move to fifth in program history with 1,693 career digs as the Patriots posted a 3-0 win over the Bulldogs.

In the first set, Cumberlands used runs of five, four, and three points to take a 16-10 lead.  Rebekah Fischer tallied her third kill of the set to extend UC's lead to 17-11.  The two teams traded points until Chapman added a pair of kills to give UC the set 25-18 and the 1-0 lead in the match.

The two teams traded points to start the second set until the Patriots got back-to-back kills from Leah Crist and Megan Jackson to as part of a 3-0 run to give the Patriots a 5-3 lead.  It continued to be a back-and-forth match with each team having a 3-0 run.  On the next ball, Short found Fischer for a kill, which sparked a 6-0 for UC to give the Patriots an 18-10 advantage.  Cumberlands closed out the set on a 4-0 run capped off by a Chapman kill to extend their lead to 2-0.

The third set saw the score tied nine different times before Cumberlands scored three straight points to take a 15-12 lead.  Tennessee Wesleyan cut the lead to 16-15, however the Patriots continued their strong play with a 7-1 run to extend their lead to 23-16.  The Patriots posted back-to-back kills from Fischer and Koch to take the set 25-17 and the match 3-0.

Short dished out a three-set season high 41 assists to go along with ten digs.  Chapman led the Patriots with 13 kills, while Jackson and Koch finished with 11 kills each.

The Patriots will return to action Saturday, October 27, when they take part in the second day of action at the Phoenix Classic. Cumberlands will face Bluefield at 12 p.m. to start off the day before taking on Reinhardt at 4 p.m.

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