Bowling Green, KY – The second-seed UC volleyball team had multiple strong performances to defeat 7^th-seed Freed-Hardeman 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-10) Thursday afternoon in the quarterfinals of the MSC Tournament at Studle Financial Arena.  With the win, the Patriots improve to 22-10 overall and advance to the semifinals of the MSC Tournament.

Sara Zampedri led the way with 13 kills and seven digs in the match, while Allyson Grava tallied ten kills and eight digs.  Juliet Banks led UC's defensive effort with a match-high 24 digs as Savanah Jolly chipped in 18 digs and three assists.  Kendall Arnold finished with a double-double tallying 31 assists to go along with 11 digs.  Anna Blumeier recorded eight kills as Danielle Jackson and Kara Gipson finished with six kills apiece. 

The two teams traded points early until a kill from Danielle Jackson gave UC a 3-2 edge.  The Patriots went on a 4-2 run as Kendall Arnold connected with Allyson Grava to make it 7-5.  Freed-Hardeman tallied four straight points before Sara Zampedri notch back-to-back kills to put Cumberlands in front 10-9.  Anna Blumeier recorded a kill and a block as the Patriots took a 13-12 advantage. A couple points later, Savanah Jolly tallied an ace to make it 16-13.  After the Lions evened the score, back-to-back digs sparked a three-point Patriots run to make it 19-16.  Arnold connected with Kara Gipson and Bluemeier for kills to spark a four-point run as Zampedri notched a kill to close out the set 25-20 and give the Patriots a 1-0 lead.  UC had a trio of players finish the set with three kills apiece. 

Cumberlands tallied a .250 hitting percentage with 12 kills in the second set as they worked to extend their lead to 2-0.  Freed-Hardeman jumped out to a 6-3 lead in the second set before Arnold and Jackson combined for a block spark a Patriot rally.  Cumberlands scored seven unanswered points, including Arnold dishing out assists to a trio of Patriots to put them in front 12-7. UC added a five-point run that was capped off with a Blumeier kill to make it 17-8.  Blumeier added a pair of kills before Jackson notched her fifth kill of the match to make it 23-14. Jada McAvene closed out the set with an ace to give the Patriots the second set 25-16.

Four different Patriots combined for six kills to open the third set with a 6-1 advantage.  Arnold contributed four assists and a kill as part of that run.  Grava notched a pair of kills and an assist to extended their lead to 9-2.  A couple plays later, Cumberlands went on an 12-1 run including five kills from Zampedri to give the Patriots a 21-5 lead.  Freed-Hardeman went on a 5-3 run, however, Banks connected with Grava for a kill to close out the set 25-10 and the match 3-0. 

For the match, Cumberlands posted a .306 hitting percentage and finished with 46 kills.  The sweep is UC's 14^th 3-0 victory on the season.

The Patriots will face the winner of #3 Cumberland vs. #6 Georgetown on Friday, November 10^th.  First serve is set for 7 p.m. ET.

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