Williamsburg, KY – Patriots moves to 8-3 after sweeping their first game against Ohio Christian 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-13). Then followed with a win over Bluefield 3-1 (25-18, 20-25, 25-16, 25-13).

Game One: Ohio Christian

The Pats were led by sophomore Anna Blumeier who tallied 11 kills. Allyson Grava added nine kills while Shelby Lackey came away with seven kills and three aces. Freshman middle Mary Schneidtmiller led the team with two blocks while Kendall Arnold came away with 28 assists.

UC opened the first set with a block by Lackey and Schneidtmiller. After an Ohio Christian kill, the Pats went on a 5-0 run behind two aces from Juliet Banks and kills from Schneidtmiller and Blumeier. Later in the set Ohio Christian would go on a run that would tie the set at 16-16. From there, the Pats went on a 7-1 run to gain the momentum. That run had four errors and kills by Danielle Jackson, Blumeier, and Grava. A few plays later another Ohio Christian error gave UC set point and a Schneidtmiller kill ended the set.

Set two opened with some back-and forth action but had UC always maintaining at least a two-point lead. With the score being 21-19, UC got a point on an error, then Grava notched two kills to get to set point and Lackey ended the set with a kill.

The Patriots gained an early lead in set three behind a 6-0 run to start the set. A few plays later, UC would go on another run to take 14-3 lead. During that run, Lackey tallied two aces and a kill while Arnold added a kill of her own. Later in the set Kira Ervin tallied two kills while Arnold added an ace. Blumeier rattled off three straight kills to get to set point and Ervin ended the set and the match with an ace.

Game Two: Bluefield

Game two had two players notch a double-double, Grava had 20 kills with 19 digs, while Arnold came away with 46 assists and 15 digs along with three aces and two blocks. Blumeier put in another good game with 20 kills.

The first set started with a 4-1 run the featured back-to-back kills from Grava and Blumeier. Then after a Rams point Lackey and Blumeier came away with kills. A few plays later, three straight kills from Grava gave UC a 11-7 lead. After some back-and-forth action, the Pats started to pull away with a 6-0 run. That run had two aces from Arnold and a Grava kill. Three plays later, Grava notched
another kill to make set point and Blumeier ended the set with a kill.

Bluefield responded to take the second set, but Cumberlands rallied to take the third and fourth set. In the third set a couple of Blumeier kills gave the Patriots the early lead. Ervin followed with an ace to take a 4-1 lead. The Rams made a run to tie the game at 8-8 but kills by Lackey and Blumeier plus an error gave UC a 11-8 lead. A few plays later, the Pats went on a 5-0 to push the lead 21-15. That run kills from Ervin, Grava, and Lackey with an ace from Arnold. After a Bluefield point, UC scored four straight points to end the set.

Cumberlands dominated the fourth and final set. The set opened with a 5-1 Pats run. Lackey opened the set with a kill, then Grava followed with an ace. A block by Lackey and Blumeier made the score 3-0 and a kill from Blumeier pushed the lead to 4-1. Later in the set, a 4-0 run pushed the lead to double figures, 22-11. That run had a kill by Banks and back-to-back aces by Ervin. From there, Blumeier and Grava notched kills to get to set and match point, then Jackson got an ace to end the game.

Coach Kathryn Hart had this to say about day one of the tournament, "I'm very proud of how the team played today. We knew we would have to be creative with our line up due to Emily being out. Both Shelby and Kira came in and played their roles well. Anna and Allyson on the outside played lights out and I love what we are seeing from them offensively. Overall, a great team effort and looking forward to the competition tomorrow".

Cumberlands will finish their weekend with another two games tomorrow starting at 3:30 pm against Bryan and will end the weekend against Bluefield at 5:30.

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.