Bowling Green, KY – The second-seed University of the Cumberlands volleyball team scored the final two points of the match to defeat fourth-seed Lindsey Wilson 3-2 (25-22. 24-26, 25-16, 17-25, 16-14) to capture their first Mid-South Conference tournament title in program history Saturday afternoon at Studle Financial Arena. With the win, the Patriots earn an automatic berth to the NAIA National Tournament for the first time in program history as well.
Allyson Grava, the MSC Player of the Year, led the way with 23 kills and 17 digs for her 13
th double-double of the season. The MSC Freshman of the Year
Sara Zampedri notched 15 kills to go along with 17 digs, while
Juliet Banks, the MSC Defensive Player of the Year, notched a season-high 30 digs, seven assists and four aces.
Kendall Arnold chipped in 49 assists and 17 digs, while
Anna Blumeier added 13 kills.
The match opened with Lindsey Wilson jumping out to a 14-9 advantage in the first set. A kill from Blumeier sparked a Patriot rally as
Danielle Jackson added a kill before pairing with Rylie Dupue for a block to cut the deficit to 15-12. The two teams traded points until Zampedri and Blumeier recorded a pair of kills each to even the score at 19-19. UC added two more points to their six-point run taking the 21-19 edge. The Patriots closed out the set with four kills, including a pair from Blumeier to take the set 25-22 and the 1-0 lead.
Cumberlands (23-10) jumped out to a 5-3 lead in the second set after a pair of kills from Jackson. UC utilized a 5-3 run to extend their lead to 10-6 a few points later. Lindsey Wilson evened the match twce before Jackson and Grava combined for a kill to make it 14-12 in favor of the Patriots. The teams traded points until a 7-3 Lindsey Wilson run put the Blue Raiders in front 23-21. Cumberlands battled back with kills from Zampedri and Grava to even the set at 24-24, however Lindsey Wilson went on to take the set and even the score 1-1.
Grava and Blumeier combined for five kills and a block to give UC a 10-2 advantage to open the third set. The Blue Raiders pulled within three, however, a pair of Zampedri kills made it 13-9. Cumberlands utilized a five and a four point run to take a 23-12 advantage before Jackson closed out the set with a kill giving UC the 2-1 lead.
Cumberlands jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the fourth set as
Savanah Jolly notched an ace. A Zampedri ace coupled with a trio of kills from Grava gave the Patriots a 16-14 advantage. From that point Lindsey Wilson closed out the set on an 11-1 run to force a fifth set.
The Patriots opened the fifth set with kills from
Kara Gipson and Grava to take a 3-2 lead. After the Blue Raiders went in front 6-5, a kill from Zampedri sparked a 5-1 Patriot run, which was capped off by back-to-back kills from the Flero, Italy native. After a Lindsey Wilson run, Bluemeier added a kill and a block before Banks notched an ace to make it 14-12. The Blue Raiders tied the score at 14-14 however, a Grava kill put UC in front to win the set 16-14 and the match 3-2.
As a team the Patriots finished the match with 62 kills and a .203 hitting percentage. The also notched a season-high 101 digs in the match.
The Patriots will now await the NAIA selection show on Monday, November 13, at 3 p.m. ET to find out who they will face in the NAIA Opening round.
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