Milligan, TN – Seniors Megan Jackson, Lynsey Short, and Tara Routliffe each set a new career-high to lead the UC volleyball team to a split on the final day of the Milligan Mountain Madness Tournament Saturday afternoon.  The Patriots fell 3-0 to Saint Francis, before posting a 25-19, 25-14, 22-25, 25-19 win over Milligan.  After the split, UC moves to 5-4 on the season.

After dropping their first match  of the day to Saint Francis 27-29, 21-25, 18-25, the Patriots battled back to record a 3-1 win over the Buffaloes.  The first set saw three lead changes and three ties to give Milligan a 7-6 edge.  UC tallied nine of the next 11 points to put the Patriots back in front 15-9. Cumberlands extended their lead to 20-13, before Milligan cut the lead to four points at 23-19.  That was the closest the Buffaloes got as kills from Mackenzie Koch and Anna Zuniga gave UC the set 25-19 and the 1-0 lead.

Five different Patriots recorded at least one kill to start the second set to give UC a 7-4 advantage.  From that point, Cumberlands remained in control utilizing a pair of two point rallies and a 5-0 run, which included three Jackson kills, to extend their lead to 18-10.  UC added with a 6-2 run, before a Buffaloes attacking error clinched the set 25-14 and extended the Patriots lead to 2-0.

Milligan got off to a fast start in the third set jumping out to a 10-2 lead.  The Patriots fought back cutting the deficit to one point at 17-18, however it wasn't enough as the Buffaloes held on to win the set 25-22 pushing the game to a fourth set.

Milligan took a 3-1 lead in the fourth set, before UC went on a 5-1 run to take a 6-4 advantage.  The Patriots added a 7-2 run, including a pair of assists by Short, to extend their lead to 12-8. Both teams continued to trade points making the score 22-19 in favor of the Patriots.  A pair of assists from Short combined with a service ace from Routliffe helped UC finish the set and the match.

Leading the way for UC was Short, who dished out 46 assists, five digs, and three kills. The 46 assists is a new four set career-high for Short, who also notched all-tournament team honors.  Jackson also set a new four set career-high with 16 kills, while Routliffe posted a career-high 39 digs in the win.

Lily Chapman recorded her second double-double of the season with 12 digs and 11 kills.  Anna Zuniga and Leah Crist finished with a season-high 15 digs and seven kills, respectfully.

With the win over Milligan, Patriots Head Coach Kathryn Hart ties Jon Campbell for the most wins in program history with 106.

The Patriots will return to action Tuesday, September 4, when they host Tennessee Wesleyan at 7 p.m. in the UC Volleyball Gym.  Live video will be available here, while live stats for the tournament will be available here.

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