Bowling Green, KY – The UC volleyball team split their first two games to open the 2018 schedule, defeating Martin Methodist 3-2 (25-21, 19-25, 23-25, 25-19, 15-9), before falling to Xavier (La) 3-1 (23-25, 26-24, 21-25, 23-25) Friday afternoon at Ephram White Gym.  After the games, UC moves to 1-1 on the season.

UC jumped out to a quick start against Martin Methodist taking an 8-1 lead, which included a pair of aces from Tara Routliffe in the first set.  The Red Hawks responded with a 10-6 run to cut the lead to 14-11, before UC added back-to-back points. The two teams traded points with the game seeing the score tied at 19-19 and 20-20 before a Mackenzie Koch Kill put the Patriots back in front.  Cumberlands tallied four of the next five points to take the first set 25-21.

Martin Methodist battled back to win the next two sets 25-19 and 25-23 to give the Red Hawks a 2-1 advantage. 

The fourth set began with the two teams trading points and having the score tied seven times, before UC pulled ahead 12-9.  Later in the set, the Patriots used a 6-0 run, which included a pair of aces from Lynsey Short, to extend their lead to 20-12. Cumberlands continued to battle and Megan Jackson notched the kill to give the Patriots the set 25-19 and tie the match 2-2.

In the fifth set, Martin Methodist jumped out to a quick 2-1 lead however Lily Chapman and Jackson combined for five straight points to give UC a 6-2 advantage.  Jackson added a pair of service aces later in the set to extend the lead to 9-3.  The two teams traded points to make it 12-9, before UC notched three straight points to win the set 15-9 and match 3-2.

Chapman led the way for UC with 18 kills and 14 digs, while Routliffe added 26 digs.  Koch and Jackson recorded 12 and ten kills, respectfully, while Short dished out 44 assists and five service aces.

Against Xavier, the Patriots jumped out to a 14-8 lead in the first set.  Xavier went on 12-6 run to take a 20-18 lead, before UC battled back to tie the score at 21-21.  The two teams traded points twice, however Xavier notched the final three points to take the set 25-23 and give the Gold Nuggets a 1-0 lead. 

In the second set, UC jumped out to a quick 4-2 led, before Xavier went on a 15-9 run to give them a 17-13 advantage.  The Patriots notched five unanswered points to retake the lead 18-17.  The lead changed five more times before Ashley Sobocinski recorded a service ace to give UC the set 26-24 and even the match at 1-1.

Cumberlands look to take the lead and battled the Gold Nuggets close however Xavier held on the 25-21 win in the third set and 25-23 win in the fourth set for the 3-1 final.

Short led the way with 39 assists and 16 digs, while Routliffe added 26 digs.  Ashley set a new career-high with 19 digs, while Chapman and Koch finished with 16 and 11 kills, respectfully.

The Patriots will return to action tomorrow for the final day of the Mid-South Challenge facing IU Southeast at 1 p.m. before squaring off with Texas Wesleyan at 3 p.m.  Live stats for both games will be available here.

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