Portsmouth, OH – Three players recorded at least 12 kills in the match as Cumberlands volleyball defeated Shawnee State 3-1 (25-10, 27-29, 25-17, 25-20) Friday night at Waller Gym.  With the win UC improves to 8-6 on the year, while the Bears move to 4-2 overall.

Allyson Grava led the way with a season-high 19 kills to go along with 11 digs, while Sara Zampedri notched 17 kills and 13 digs in the match.  Kara Gipson tied her career-high with 12 kills as Danielle Jackson finished with eight kills.  Kendall Arnold notched 47 assists and eight digs as Juliet Banks totaled 23 digs.

The teams traded points to open the match before UC tallied seven straight points, with kills from Zampedri, Grava, and Jackson to take the 8-1 lead.  Grava notched three more kills extending the lead to 12-4.  After Shawnee State went on a 5-4 run, a kill from Zampedri sparked an 8-0 run from UC to extend their lead to 24-9.  Two plays later the Patriots closed out the set 25-10 to take the 1-0 lead.

UC found themselves in a 9-4 deficit early in the second set, however, began chipping away at the deficit.  Arnold dished out a pair of kills to pull Cumberlands within two at 10-8.  The Bears extended their lead to 20-13, before a Gipson kill sparked a rally.  UC went on a 9-2 run, capped off by a solo block from Jackson to tie the score at 22-22.  Jackson added a pair of kills late, but it wasn't enough as Shawnee State took the set 29-27 and evened the score at 1-1.

Zampedri notched a pair of kills to open the third set as UC jumped out to a 3-1 lead.  After Shawnee State tied the score, the Patriots earned back-to-back kills from Grava and Jayce Braden to pull in front 8-5.  The Bears pulled within a point twice, however, Cumberlands remained persistent as Jackson notch her second solo block coupled with a pair of kills from Grava gave the Patriots an 18-13 advantage.  Grava added a pair of kills along with an ace as part of a five-point run, before Banks closed out the set with an ace to put UC back in front 2-1.

The Patriots carried the momentum into the fourth set jumping out to a 6-2 advantage behind five kills from four different players.  UC utilized a pair of three-point runs, the later of which saw Arnold dished out a pair of assists before adding a kill to make it 13-5.  The Bears went on a 7-2 run to pull within three points before Zampedri notched a kill and a block to extend the lead to 18-12.  After trading points, Gipson closed out the set and the match with a kill as UC earned the 3-1 victory.

Cumberlands will remain on the road as they travel to Circleville, OH for a tri-match tomorrow.  UC will face Rochester at 3 p.m. before taking on Ohio Christian at 5 p.m.  Live video of the matches will be available here.

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