Williamsburg, KY – Despite a strong defensive showing, the Patriots volleyball team fell to the Martin Methodist Redhawks 3-0 (25-22, 25-16, 25-21) on Saturday afternoon. Following the loss, the Patriots move to 8-13 overall and 6-10 in MSC play.

Emily Prewitt was the big hitter from the outside for UC this match as she had 12 kills, while Lily Chapman notched 11 kills and seven digs. Savanah Schwarz was able to tally 30 assists and Rachel Scott got after it on the defensive side of the floor as she led the team with eight digs.

Cumberlands started the first set slow as the Redhawks were able to hop out to a quick 4-0 lead. However, after trading points back and forth, Prewitt would be able to overtake the lead at 12-11 as she connected with a Schwarz assist for a kill. Chapman would be next up for the Patriots as she found an opening in the Redhawks defense for a kill that, once again, tied the score up at 17-17. UC continued the great offense with a 5-0 run that featured kills from Shelby Lackey and Prewitt that extended the Cumberlands lead to 22-20. Unfortunately, the Redhawks ended set one with a 5-0 run of their own, which also ended the first set at 25-22 and put Martin Methodist up at 1-0 for the match.

The Patriots would go on to drop set two at 25-16 and go down 0-2 on the match, but put up a fight in the third set. After a long rally between both teams, Kira Ervin was able to put UC back out front at 7-6 as she slammed a kill through with an assist from Schwarz. Although, a series of errors by Cumberlands allowed the Redhawks to take back the lead at 17-12. The Patriots would not give up though as they were able to battle back with an 8-3 run that was highlighted by a Chapman kill that put the score at 20-20. Nevertheless, it was not enough as the Redhawks ended the third set and the game with a 5-1 run that put the score at 25-21 and the match score at 3-0 in favor of Martin Methodist.

The Patriots will return to the court for the MSC Tournament on Wednesday, April 7 with the opponent and location to be determined.

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