Bowling Green, KY – The second-seed Patriots volleyball team rallied to defeat Georgetown 3-1 (26-28, 25-16, 25-19, 25-21) Friday night at Studle Financial Arena.  With the win, UC advances to the championship match of the MSC Tournament for the first time under Head Coach Kathryn Park.

Allyson Grava led the way with 17 kills, while Sara Zampedri chipped in 16 kills to go along with six digs.  Anna Blumeier tallied 11 kills as Kendall Arnold finished with 39 assists and 12 digs.  Juliet Banks led the way with 22 digs as Savanah Jolly and Grava notched 11 digs apiece, while Danielle Jackson recorded five blocks. 

Georgetown open the first set on a with a 7-4 advantage before Arnold connected with Danielle Jackson for a kill to pull UC within two.  The Tigers went on a 6-1 run, however, UC earned back-to-back kills from Kara Gipson and Anna Blumeier to cut the deficit to 13-8.  Grava tallied a pair of kills to pull the Pats within five points at 15-10.  The Tigers extended their lead to 18-12 before the Patriots began to rally with six unanswered points of their own, including four kills from Sara Zampedri to even the set at 18-18.  After UC evened the match three more times, an Allyson Grava kill put Cumberlands in front 24-22.  Georgetown evened the score at 24-24, before kills from Bluemeier and Grava put the Pats in front 26-25.  The Tigers notched the final three points of the first set taking the set 28-26 and the 1-0 lead despite the Patriots recording a .391 hitting percentage.

UC continued their strong attack recording a .324 hitting percentage in the second set.  Grava, Blumeier, and Jackson all recorded kills to give Cumberlands a 5-2 edge in the second set.  The Tigers evened the score at 6-6 before Jayce Braden connected with Zampedri for a kill, which sparked a four-point Pats run making it 10-6. Gipson and Grava combined for three kills as UC took a 15-9 advantage.  A few plays later Savanah Jolly dished out assists to Zampedri and Grava to extend the Patriots lead to 21-12.  Zampedri notched a kill and an ace to close out the set 25-16 and even the score at 1-1. 

The two teams traded points to open the third set as Grava notched a block and two kills to give UC an 8-6 advantage.  Blumeier notched consecutive kills to give UC a 13-10 edge.  A couple plays later, Grava notched her 14^th kill of the match to spark a three-point Cumberlands run giving them a 17-12 edge. Zampedri and Gipson combined for a trio of kills to extend the Patriots lead to 22-16.  UC closed out the set with a great answer to the Tigers blocking as on the third try Grava notched the kill to make it 25-19 and give UC the 2-1 lead.

Cumberlands earns blocks from Blumeier and Jackson to jump out to a 4-0 lead in the fourth set.  A couple plays later, Arnold connected with Grava for a kill extending the lead to 7-3.  Jackson added a kill off an assist from Joly to give UC an 11-3 edge.  The Tigers went on a seven-point run before a block give UC a 12-10 advantage.  A Zampedri ace coupled with a pair of Blumeier kills extended UC's lead to 17-14.  Rylie Depue add a kill before Zampedri and Gipson extend UC's lead to 21-17 with back-to-back kills.  Zampedri notched a kill and an ace before Blumeier closed out the set (25-21) and the match (3-1) with a kill.

As a team the Patriots posted a .331 hitting percentage over the match to go along with nine blocks. 

The Patriots will face fourth-seed Lindsey Wilson, who knocked off top-seed Campbellsville 3-1, in the other semifinals.  First serve is set for 4 p.m. ET in Bowling Green, KY.
 
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