Parkville, MO – The UC Volleyball team traveled to Park University to compete in the NAIA Opening Round on Saturday. The Patriots saw their historic run come to a conclusion as they fell to the Pirates, 3-0 (17-25, 15-25, 25-27).

Sara Zampedri led the team with 15 kills, hitting percentage of .289, and received credit for 15 points. Following close behind was senior Allyson Grava, who was responsible for 12 kills and hit for .242. Kendall Arnold dished out 30 assists and 14 digs, followed by libero Juliet Banks who notched 14 digs and seven assists.

Zampedri notched the Patriots' first point with a kill, in the first set, and the score tied at 3-3 with a kill from Grava. Park maintained the lead for the entirety of the set, but UC caught up with a kill from Zampedri and an attack error to make it 11-12. After that, the Pirates jumped ahead to end the set at 25-17. UC had ten kills and 16 digs in the first, with five kills from Zampedri and four by Grava.

In the second set, the Patriots fell 25-15 to the Pirates. UC started out the set with a kill by Anna Blumeir and a service ace from Banks to take a 2-1 lead.Taking the score to 8-10, Grava hit for a kill followed by another service ace from Banks. Danielle Jackson shortened the Pirates lead with a kill to make the score 11-12, but Park moved ahead with two kills, two services aces, and three error points in a row.

The Patriots battled hard in the third set, beginning with two kills by Zampedri and Grava to take the 2-0 lead. The two teams exchanged scores back-and-forth for the majority of the set. Zampedri and Grava had another kill each to tie the set at 4-4. Park pulled ahead, but the Patriots caught up when Grava notched a kill and service ace, making the score 6-7. UC took a 14-13 lead with three kills from Zampedri, two by Kara Gipson, and one from both Grava and Jackson. The Patriots fell behind 20-17 but regained the lead with three Zampedri kills and one kill each from Grava, Jackson, and Blumeir. The two teams tied it at 24-24 and scored on a kill from Jackson, but Park had three straight points to end the set 27-25.

UC Volleyball rounded out a successful and historic season; the team brought home the first MSC Tournament Championship banner under Coach Park and received a bid to the NAIA Opening Round for the first time in program history. The Patriots finished 24-11 overall and ended the season with 1695 kills, 285 aces, 2322 digs, and a hitting percentage of .235. The team produced the MSC Defender of the Year (Banks), Player of the Year (Grava), Coach of the Year (Kathryn Park), Freshman of the Year (Zampedri), along with four First Team All-Conference and three Second Team All-Conference players.

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.