Jackson, TN – The Patriots closed out their three-game road trip splitting their tri-match against NCAA DII opponents Saturday afternoon.  Cumberlands fell 3-1 (19-25, 23-25, 25-17, 20-25) to Ouachita Baptist before defeating Lane 3-0 (25-19, 25-13, 25-15).  After the day UC moves to 14-8 on the year.

Allyson Grava led the way with 27 kills on the day, while Sara Zampedri notched 24 kills, 19 digs, and seven aces.  Kendall Arnold dished out 70 assists to go along with 23 digs as Juliet Banks tallied 38 digs.  Danielle Jackson tallied seven blocks and 12 kills on the day.

Ouachita Baptist

UC had five players with at least seven kills as Jackson added five blocks in the match.

The Tigers opened with a 10-6 advantage in the first set before a kill from Jada McAvene sparked a six-point Patriot run that was capped off with kills from three different Pats to give UC a 12-10 lead.  Ouachita Baptist tied the score before an Anna Blumeier kill put Cumberlands back in front 13-12.  The Tigers went on a 7-1 run, however, the Pats battled back with a 5-1 run of their own, including three assists from Arnold to cut the deficit to 20-19. Ouachita Baptist scored the final five points to take a 1-0 lead.

Trailing 5-3 in the second set a block from Blumeier and Jackson ignited an eight-point run that featured three Savanah Jolly aces to put Cumberlands up 10-5.  UC utilized a three and five point run to take a 21-18 advantage in the second set.  The Patriots added kills from Jackson and Grava but it wasn't enough as Ouachita Baptist won the set 25-23 to extend their lead to 2-0.

Zampedri notched a trio of aces to open the third set. The match was tied four times before Arnold found Kara Gipson for a kill putting UC in front 11-10.  Zampedri tallied two more aces as part of a six-point Patriot run to make it 16-10.  The two teams traded points until Cumberlands went on a 6-2 run capped off with a kill from Zampedri to close out the set 25-17 and cut the deficit to 2-1. 

Despite the Patriots best effort, Ouachita Baptist took the fourth set 25-20 to earn the 3-1 win.

Lane

Cumberlands tallies their seventh sweep of the season as Zampedri and Grava combined for 33 kills.  Arnold dished out 35 assists in the win as Banks tallied 14 digs.

Lane jumped out to a 3-2 lead, however, a 5-1 Patriots run, that included a pair of kills from Zampedri put UC in front 7-4.  After the set was tied three times, the Dragons took a 15-13 edge. From that point the Patriots went on a 10-1 run as Arnold dished out six assists to take a 23-16 lead.  A couple plays later, Grava notched consecutive kills to close out the set 25-19.

An 8-1 run early in the second set gave Cumberlands a 10-4 lead.  The two teams traded points before Arnold found Grava and Zampedri for three straight kills to extend UC's lead to 17-9.  UC utilized a three-point run and a four-point run to take a 24-11 lead before Arnold connected with Zampedri for the set clinching point giving the Patriots the 25-13 win and the 2-0 advantage.

Looking for the sweep, the Patriots went on a six-point run to start the third set. The match went back-and-forth until kills from Grava and Zampedri put UC in front 14-6.  Jackson added a kill and an assisted block to extend the lead to 19-9.  Cumberlands closed out the set on a 4-1 run as Jackson tallied the final kill for the 3-0 final.

UC will return home for a pair of MSC matches next week.  The Patriots will face Freed-Hardeman on Friday, October 6, with the first serve set for 6 p.m.

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