Barbourville, KY – The Patriots advance to 19-7 as sophomore Juliet Banks surpassed the 1000 career digs mark. The Patriots swept the first game 3-0 over Kentucky Christian (25-12,25-8, 25-15), then took down Union 3-1 (25-15, 25-18, 27-25, 25-17).

VS Kentucky Christian

The trio of Allyson Grava, Shelby Lackey, and Anna Blumeier notched double-digit kill numbers as they accounted for 34 of the Patriots 57 kills. Grava led the way with 13 kills, eight digs, and three aces. Lackey came away with 11 kills and two blocks. Blumeier finished the match with 10 kills. Kendall Arnold led the team with 32 assists while Savanah Schwarz added seven assists of her own. Juliet Banks ended with 19 digs, and Lexi Lester finished with eight.

The first set started tightly knit with the score 10-9 in the Knights favor. A Lackey kill sparked a 12-1 UC run that allowed the Pats to take set one. On that run Blumeier tallied three kills, while Danielle Jackson and Emily Prewitt notched a kill apiece. To end the set, Grava put in back-to-back kills.

Set two was all UC, as the Pats started the set on a 11-2 run. Blumeier put in the first kill of the set followed by two kills from each Grava and Lackey. The next play, Prewitt and Lackey came together at the net for a block, then Jackson would get an ace. A few plays later Blumeier would get back-to-back kills to extend the Patriots lead to 18-3. From there Cumberlands would continue adding points to take the set 25-8.

Cumberlands carried that momentum into the third and final set. Grava would score six of UC's nine points, as the Pats took a 9-4 lead. Kira Ervin then tallied an ace. UC would steadily add points until a kill from Jayce Braden gave UC set and match point. On the next play, Grava notched her third ace to put the game away.

VS Union

Grava and Arnold both put in double-doubles. Grava tallied 20 kills with 11 digs, and two aces while Arnold put in 48 assists and 16 digs, along with four aces. Blumeier had another good game as she tallied 20 kills and Lackey added nine kills. Banks went over 1000 digs, as she had a team-high 30 digs. Jackson was heavily impactful at the net as she had five blocks.

Set one started with back-and-forth action, as the score was 9-9. Blumeier would break the tie with a kill, followed by an Arnold ace. Two plays later, Jackson notched a kill to take a 13-9 lead. The set would stay a four-point game, until Lackey notched a kill followed by a Bulldogs error and two aces from Grava. UC took a 21-13 lead which forced a Union timeout. After the timeout, Blumeier notched another kill. Two plays later, Arnold, Prewitt, and Blumeier would all add a kill to end the set 25-15.

In set two, UC gained an early lead and never looked back. Blumeier got the set's first kill, Grava added back-to-back kills of her own a few plays later. Then Jackson and Prewitt got a block to take a 5-2 lead. From there the set went back-and-forth with UC maintaining a three-point advantage throughout. Late in the set, Blumeier and Grava notched a kill apiece to take a 21-17 lead and force a Union timeout. Following the timeout, Arnold put in an ace, then Prewitt put in a kill. After a Bulldogs point, Blumeier tallied a kill for match point, then Jackson and Grava ended the set with a block.

The Bulldogs responded to take set three, and UC rallied to take the fourth and final set. Cumberlands found themselves down early 8-6, before going on a 5-0 run to take an 11-8 lead. On that run, Jackson and Blumeier tallied a kill each, plus a block. A few plays later Grava and Blumeier added kills to take a 17-13 lead. Following a point from both teams, Banks put in an ace. After a Union timeout, the Pats got two points on errors to take a 21-14 lead. Then Blumeier added a kill followed by another Arnold ace to put the Pats up 23-16. After a Union point, Arnold notched a kill, and a Bulldogs error gave UC the win.

Cumberlands will hit the road and head to Wilmore, KY to take on Asbury on October 25^th at 6:30 pm. Then on the 28^th, they head to Crestview Hills to take on Thomas More at 6 pm.

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, TikTok- @ucpatriots, Youtube- Cumberlands Patriots, and Facebook by searching University of the Cumberlands Athletics.