Williamsburg, KY – The UC volleyball team saw multiple tallied a season-high in aces and digs with multiple standout performances but it wasn't enough as the Patriots fell to Campbellsville in 3-2 (25-21, 21-25, 22-25, 25-14, 16-14) Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Tigers improve to 14-9 overall and 8-0 in conference play, while the Patriots move to 17-9 overall and 5-2 against the MSC.
Sara Zampedri led the way for UC with a career-high 30 digs to go along with 20 kills and five aces.
Allyson Grava notched 18 kills and nine digs, as
Kendall Arnold tallied 20 digs and 51 assists.
Juliet Banks added five aces and 20 digs, while
Anna Blumeier and
Kara Gipson combined for 15 kills and 10 blocks.
Three plays into the first set, Grava notched a kill to spark a four-point run, which was capped off by a Zampedri kill to give the Patriots a 4-2 edge. The match was tied four times before Arnold connected with Zampedri for a kill putting UC in front 11-10. Two plays later, Grava landed a well-placed ball to begin a six point run that yielded a pair of kills from both Grava and Blumeier to give Cumberlands a 17-11 advantage.
Savanah Jolly notched a pair of aces as part of a four-point run to make it 21-15. Grava and Zampedri each added one more kill as UC took the first set 25-21.
The Tigers jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the second set before the Patriots began chipping away as a block from
Danielle Jackson and Blumeier pulled UC within two. Arnold found Blumeier and Zampedri for kills to cut the deficit to 7-6. Campbellsville utilized runs of three and four points to take a 15-9 lead, before a Gipson kill began a 5-1 Patriot run to make it 16-14. The two teams traded points until Arnold dished out three straight assists to pull Cumberlands within a point at 21-20, however, it wasn't enough as the Tigers took the second set 25-21 to even the score at 1-1.
Campbellsville extended their lead to 2-1 after taking the third set 25-22. In the fourth set, the teams traded points until the score was even at 7-7. Blumeier and Gipson combined for a block to put UC in front, before Zampedri notched consecutive aces giving the Patriots a 12-7 advantage. A couple plays later, Arnold found Grava and Jackson for back-to-back kills extending UC's lead to 16-10. Jackson notched another kill to start a 7-2 run, which was capped off by a Zampedri ace to make it 23-13. Consecutive kills by Grava closed out the set 25-14 and forced a fifth set.
The Tigers jumped out to a 4-2 lead in the fifth set, before Gipson notched a pair of kills to cut the deficit to 5-4. A four-point Campbellsville run put them in front 9-4, before Arnold found Jackson for a kill. Zampedri tallied a pair of kills as part of 5-1 Patriots run to pull UC within a point at 11-10. Zampedri notched a pair of kills and an ace to even the score at 14-14, but it wasn't enough as Campbellsville notched the final two points to take the set 16-14 and the 3-2 win.
Cumberlands returns to the court Friday, October 20, when they travel to Henderson, TN to face Freed-Hardeman. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
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