Williamsburg, KY - Many players contributed to a hard-fought battle, however, it was not enough as the Patriots fell short against Cumberland University 2-3 (22-25, 25-18, 17-25, 25-16, 14-16). UC concludes the regular season with an overall record of 21-10 and 9-3 in conference play.
Kendall Arnold notched 13 digs, while Juliet Banks finished with 10 digs along with four service aces. Anna Blumeier tallied 17 kills and five blocks while Allyson Grava and Kara Gipson collected 13 kills apiece. Kendall Arnold dished out 48 assists while Gipson collected four blocks.
Grava opened the match with an ace to set the tone for the Patriots. Both teams were neck-and-neck until kills from Gipson and Grava put the Pats up 4-2. A three-point rally for the Phoenix propelled them to a 6-10 lead, but a trio of kills from Blumeier stole the lead and put UC ahead 14-13. The Phoenix were persistent on offense, seeing five consecutive points to break away from the Pats. In a late attempt, a kill from Gipson and service ace from Banks pulled Cumberlands within two but were unable to capitalize and dropped the first set, 0-1.
UC sparked an early lead with back-to-back kills from Blumeier and a kill from Grava to set the pace early, 5-4. The two teams traded points until a pair of kills from Gipson and kills from Grava and Blumeier sent the Pats ahead 12-9. A four-point rally from the Phoenix gave them a single point advantage, but kills from Rayne Manning recaptured a Patriots lead. A five-point rally from the Pats included two kills from Blumeier, a kill from Danielle Jackson, and a service ace from Banks to capture set two and even the score at 1-1.
The Phoenix opened the third set on a 7-3 run and eventually took a 17-9 advantage. Arnold then connected with Grava to cut the deficit to 12-17. The Phoenix eventually closed out the set 17-25 to take a 2-1 lead.
UC looked to rally in the fourth set as a kill from Blumeier and Jackson looked to spark an early lead. A four-point run included kills from Blumeier and back-to-back aces from Banks to even the playing field at 10-10. Arnold connected with Blumeier and Grava to send the Pats ahead, 12-11, followed by an electric nine-point rally with two service aces from Grava to soar past the Phoenix, 20-13. The Pats closed out the set with a pair of kills from Zampedri and Gipson to force a fifth set after taking set four, 25-16.
The two teams traded points to open the fifth set before a service ace from Zampedri and Arnold connected with Blumeier to take a 4-3 advantage. The two teams traded points until a kill from Grava put the Patriots in front 14-13. The Phoenix three-point rally helped them close out the set and the match.
Cumberlands will travel to Bowling Green, KY to compete in the MSC Conference Tournament on November 9 – November 11. Game times are to be announced.
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