Box Score Williamsburg, KY – Behind a season-high 15 service aces and spectacular performances from multiple hitters, the UC women's volleyball team was able to walk away with the win against Freed-Hardeman at 3-1 (25-20, 25-17, 19-25, 25-17). Following the win, the Patriots move to 7-9 overall and 5-6 in the MSC.
Lily Chapman continues to lead all Cumberlands hitters as she slammed through 18 kills to accompany her four service aces and 11 digs. Emily Prewitt also had an impressive outing as she snagged 14 kills to go with one dig, and Jennifer Stein had a team-high five service aces and 14 digs.
The Patriots got out of the gate slow at the beginning of the first set as they allowed the Lions to start with an 11-4 run. As she has all season, Chapman was the one to get the kills going for UC as she sparked an 8-0 run that allowed Cumberlands to overtake the lead at 12-11. The two teams would continue to trade points until the Patriots were able to secure back-to-back points highlighted by a Savanah Schwarz assist for a Danielle Jackson kill to give UC the advantage once again at 17-16. The rest of the first set was all Patriots as they ended with an 8-4 run to take the set at 25-20, which gave Cumberlands the 1-0 match lead.
At the start of the second set, both teams were in a stalemate until UC secured the lead at 6-5 when Prewitt was able to smoke a kill through the Lions defense. From that point on, the Patriots would go on another huge 8-3 run that was featured by three consecutive service aces from Stein that extended the UC lead to 16-8. Olivia Verdecchia was up next for Cumberlands as she was able to notch a kill of her own that widened the Patriots lead to 21-15. Similar to the first set, UC was able to end the second set with a 4-0 run to make the score 25-17, which gave the Patriots the comfortable 2-0 match lead.
Cumberlands would go on to drop the third set at 19-25, but resumed their stellar play throughout the fourth and final set. As was the trend in the match, both teams traded points continuously throughout the beginning of the fourth set until UC was able to open the floodgates once more with a 9-0 run spearheaded by multiple kills from Chapman and Kira Ervin that gave the Patriots the 16-7 lead. Prewitt would, once again, show up big late in the set as she hammered a kill to keep UC up at 23-16. Two possessions later, Ervin would end the match at 25-17 when she connected with a Schwarz assist for a kill, and allowed Cumberlands to grab the 3-1 match win over the Lions.
The women's team will return to the court for their matchup against Campbellsville University in Campbellsville, KY on Thursday, March 25 at 7:00 PM.
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