Milligan, TN – The Patriots move to 4-2 on the season as they swept both games after taking down St. Andrews 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-17) in the first match and followed it up with a 3-0 performance over Keiser (25-16, 25-20, 25-16).  

Game One: St. Andrews

In game one, the Pats had a very balanced attack on offense as four Patriots notched seven or more kills. Danielle Jackson led the way tallying 11 kills, Allyson Grava and Anna Blumeier both added eight kills each, while Shelby Lackey notched seven kills. On the defensive side Lackey came away with three blocks and Prewitt had two. Juliet Banks led the team in digs with 14, while Lexi Lester and Kendall Arnold added 10 each. Arnold had a double-double with 23 assists.

Cumberlands found themselves down early trailing 6-2 in the first set but would put a run together to take the lead. Prewitt notched a kill and Grava followed with an ace. Two plays later back-to back kills by Blumeier and Jackson sparked a 11-2 run. The run saw two kills by Blumeier and Jackson with an ace and kill from Lackey. Following a timeout by the Knights, Cumberlands went back and forth but always maintained at least three-point advantage. After an error by the Knights, Grava notched a kill to win the set 25-20.

The Patriots keep the momentum as they started the second set with a 5-0 run, during the run Grava put in two kills. A few plays later, UC would have a 9-3 run to make the score 15-9. On the run, Blumeier would notch a kill and Savanah Schwarz followed with an ace. Then Prewitt and Lackey came together for a block. Lackey also added two more kills. Two aces by Lester and two kills from Blumeier gave the Pats a 19-10 lead. At the end of the set, Lackey notched a kill for set point and Banks tallied an ace to end it.

The third set opened with a lot of back-and-forth action with the score being 9-6. Following a St. Andrews timeout, Cumberlands would start to pull away with multiple three-point runs. The first run had an error by the Knights and a kill from Prewitt and Grava. A few plays later, Lackey notched two kills and a block with Jackson to make it 17-9. After some back and forth, the Pats would get a kill from Prewitt and Grava to get to set and match point, and a block by Prewitt and Lackey would give UC the win.

Game Two: Keiser

In game two, Grava led the way with 13 kills and three aces. Lackey added nine kills with two aces, three blocks, and 7 digs.  Arnold came away with 29 assists, while Banks led the team in digs with 12.

Set one started in UC's favor as Lester opened the game with an ace, followed by a Lackey kill. A few plays later, Grava would score three straight points by way of a kill and two aces to get an 9-4 lead. Cumberlands continued to add to their lead as Blumeier notched a kill followed by kills from Lester and Lackey, with an ace sprinkled in there by Jackson. Kills from Grava and Lackey gave the Pats set point and a kill from Blumeier gave UC the set win.

In set two the Seahawks kept play close and had the lead 19-16, before a late 9-1 run by the Pats to take set two. The run started with back-to-back kills from Lackey and Grava. Keiser then scored their last point of the set to make it 20-18. Following that score, Jackson tallied a kill and Lester added an ace to tie the set at 20-20. A block by Jackson and Grava would force a Seahawks timeout. After the timeout, Lackey and Grava notched back-to-back kills, and an error by Keiser gave the Pats set point. Grava ended the set with a kill after a pass from Arnold.

Set three started with a 4-0 run, but Keiser fought back to make it a 10-8 game. After a few plays UC would score three straight points to take a 15-10 lead. Those three points came by way of a Blumeier kill and a Lester ace. The Seahawks then rallied back to make it a one-point game 16-15. A 5-0 run gave the Pats a 21-15 lead forcing a timeout. The run had two kills from Lackey, one from Grava and a block by Prewitt and Lackey. Following the timeout, Grava would add another kill. Then back-to-back kills from Lackey gave UC set and match point and a Seahawks error gave the Pats the win.

Cumberlands will be back in action tomorrow as they return for day two of the Milligan Mountain Madness Tournament.

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