Bowling Green, KY – Cumberlands sweeps Freed-Hardeman for the second time this season (25-22, 28-26, 25-19), this time in the MSC Tournament on Thursday afternoon.
In the first match against Freed-Hardeman
Shelby Lackey led the way with 14 kills, while
Anna Blumeier added 11 kills and five digs.
Olivia Verdecchia put in seven timely kills, and
Allyson Grava came away with four kills, six digs, and one ace.
Danielle Jackson had a game-high five aces, while
Lexi Lester and
Savanah Schwarz added four apiece. Schwarz led the team with 23 assists, and Lester came away with 10.
Lackey got the UC offense started with a kill. Blumeier followed it with a kill. Lackey would then put in another kill. From there the Patriots and Lions would go point for point. An
Emily Prewitt kill would spark an 8-1 run. The run had kills from Prewitt, Lester, Verdecchia,
Camryn Wells. Lester would also add back-to-back aces. The Lion would go on a 4-0 run to tie the set, but then the Patriots would go on a 7-2 run, that would take control of the set. The run saw kills by Grava, Jackson, and three from Lackey. Schwarz would put in an aces and Prewitt would get a block.
Cumberlands trailed most of the second set but rallied at the end to take the set 28-26. When the score 20-13, UC made their run. The 13-5 run saw one ace from Schwarz, Blumeier, two from Jackson. As well as two kills by Lackey, and one from each Jackson and Blumeier.
The third set started with a kill and an ace from Grava, followed by a kill from Blumeier and another ace from Jackson. Blumeier would notch back-to-back kills, that would force a Freed-Hardeman timeout. Following the timeout, Lackey would add another kill, followed by back-to-back aces from Jackson. A few plays later Verdecchia would notch back-to-back kills. Grava would put in a kill, then Schwarz would put in back-to-back aces, forcing another Lions timeout. After the timeout, Freed-Hardeman would go on a 7-2 run, forcing a
Kathryn Hart timeout. After the timeout, Lester would notch an ace, followed by two kills from Verdecchia and one from Grava. Lackey would finish the match would a kill.
The Patriots take the Opening Round victory over Freed-Hardeman. Later today at 6:30 ET (5:30 CT) they will take on Thomas More.
For the latest and most up-to-date information on University of the Cumberlands Athletics, please visit www.cumberlandspatriots.com. Follow us on Twitter- @UC_Patriots and @UCPatsGameday, Instagram- @UCPatriots, YouTube- Cumberlands Patriots, and Facebook by searching University of the Cumberlands Athletics.
