Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Williamsburg, KY – The UC volleyball team saw six career-performance over the course of two matches as the Patriots extended their win streak to a season-best six matches.  Cumberlands defeated Bryan 3-1, before knocking off Bluefield 3-2 for the second time in as many days to close out the tournament.  With the win, Cumberlands improve to 10-3 overall on the season.

Anna Blumeier led the way for the Patriots offense with 42 kills, while Allyson Grava finished with two double-doubles and tallied 33 kills and 25 digs.  Kendall Arnold dished out 103 assists to go along with 29 digs, while Juliet Banks added a team-best 54 digs on the day.

Match 1 vs. Bryan: UC won 3-1 (23-25, 25-14, 29-27, 25-17)

Blumeier and Grava each tallied 18 kills, while five Patriots recorded double-digit digs.  Juliet Banks, Kira Ervin, and Kendall Arnold all notched a career-high in digs with 34,  20, and 19, respectfully.  Arnold also dished out 47 assists, which was a career-high for a four-set match, while Lexi Lester tallied four aces in the win.

After dropping the first set to Bryan, the Patriots jumped out to a 5-0 lead behind two kills and a block from Lackey in the second set.  Blumeier and Danielle Jackson each notched a pair of kills to  extended Cumberlands lead to 11-2.  A couple points later Grava notched a kill to spark a 5-0 run for the Patriots that included a pair of service aces from Lexi Lester to extend the lead to 16-4.  The two teams traded points as Bryan cut the led to 21-12.  Jackson assisted on a pair of Patriots blocks as Blumeier closed out the set with a kill to give the Patriots the 25-14 set win and even the score at 1-1.

The two teams traded points opening the third set as there were three ties in the first ten points.  Bryan retook the lead, however, back-to-back kills by Ervin evened the score at 11-11 while a Juliet Banks service ace put the Patriots in front 12-11.  The match was tied twice more, before consecutive aces by Ervin helped spark a four point run and put Cumberlands in front 17-13.  Grava added a trio of kills to extend UC's lead to 21-17.  Bryan rallied to even the score at 24-24.  The set was tied three times before the Patriots closed out the set with a kill by Grava and an ace by Jackson to take the set 29-27 and take a 2-1 advantage.

In the fourth set, the back-and-forth continued as the two teams traded points until UC scored three straight to take a 7-4 lead.  A couple points later, Jackson recorded the Patriots second ace of the set to extend the lead to 9-6. The Lions went on a 4-1 run, however, UC took three of the next four points in part to kills from Grava and Blumeier to take a 14-11 edge.  Bryan tallied four straight points before Blumeier sparked a four point Patriots run with a pair of kills as Cumberlands took a 18-15 lead.  The Lions pulled within a point and once again UC looked toward Blumeier, who tallied her 18^th kill of the match to spark a rally.  Cumberlands scored the final six points of the set, capped off by a Grava kill to take the set 25-17 and the match 3-1.

Match 2 vs. Bluefield: UC won 3-2 (25-17, 23-25, 25-22, 24-26, 15-13)

In one of the most evenly contested matches of the early season, the Patriots fend off Bluefield to take a 3-2 win over the Rams.  Anna Blumeier notched a career-high 24 kills, while Kendall Arnold dished out a career-high 56 assists.  Allyson Grava finished with a 15 kills, 14 digs double-double, as Juliet Banks tallied a team-high 20 digs.  Banks and Grava each had three aces in the win.

Bluefield jumped out to an early led in the first set, but the Patriots kept within two points and forced five ties before Arnold dished out three straight assists to give UC its first lead of the game at 10-8.  Blumeier and Grava continued their hot hands as the each recorded a kill while Banks notched a pair of aces as part of a six point run which put UC in front 16-9.  Bluefield pulled within three points at 19-16 but the Patriots closed out the set with four straight kills, including one from Shelby Lackey for the final point as Cumberlands took the first set 25-17.

The Rams got off to a 5-2 lead in the second set as Blumeier added a kill to spark the UC offense.  A Jackson service ace tied the match at 7-7 and three points later Grava and Lackey combined for a block to give Cumberlands its first lead of the set at 9-8.  The two teams traded points as the match was tied five times, before Lester's serving sparked a three-point run to give UC a 16-13 advantage.  The two teams traded points until Blumeier put a well-placed ball for a kill to give UC a 21-19 lead.  Bluefield tied the game at 22-22, the game was tied twice more as Bluefield tallied the final three points of the set to take the set 25-23 and even the score at 1-1.

Bluefield took an early 4-1 lead in the third set before a kill by Jackson brought the Patriots within one at 4-3.  UC would eventually tie the set at 7-7 and again at 11-11.  The match was tied four more times before an Arnold ace put Cumberlands in front 16-15.  The teams continued to traded points until Blumeier notched back-to-back kills to give Cumberlands a 21-20 edge. Cumberlands added kills from Blumeier and Grava to extend their lead to 23-21, before Grava closed out the set with a kill making it 25-22 and giving UC a 2-1 edge.

Bluefield took the fourth set 26-24 to force a decisive fifth set.  Grava opened the fifth set with an ace to put UC in front.  After trading points, Arnold dished out assists to Blumeier and Grava to give the patriots a 6-4 advantage.  Bluefield scored three straight to take a 7-6 lead and took an 8-7 advantage as the teams switched sides.  UC evened the score twice, however two straight points from the Rams gave them an 11-9 lead.  Coming out of a Cumberlands timeout, Grava notched her 15^th kill of the match and tallied a service ace to even the score at 11-11.  A couple plays later, an ace from Lackey put UC in front 13-12.  After the teams traded points, Arnold found Blumeier for the game-winning kill, giving the Patriots the set 15-13 and the 3-2 win. 

Head Coach Kathryn Hart wrapped up today's game by saying, "I am so proud of how well the team fought this weekend. Each match was tough and we had to really earn each game. Both outsides played extremely well when we needed them, and Kira's defense really inspired us to get more touches. We grew a lot as a team and looking forward to more touch matches as we get into conference." Coach also added this about the weekend, "Overall hosting our first tournament was a lot of fun. We want to say thank you to everyone who helped make this weekend possible!"

Cumberlands will return to the court Thursday, September 8, when they host Pikeville to open conference play.  The match is set for 7 p.m. in the UC Volleyball Gym with live stats available here and live video available here.

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