Lebanon, TN – The (RV) Patriots volleyball team battled throughout to close out the regular season with a 3-2 win over Cumberland (17-25, 25-21, 25-16, 21-25, 15-13) Friday night.  With the win, UC clinches the second-seed in the MSC Tournament and improves to 30-4 overall and 9-3 in MSC play.

The 30 wins ties the program record for most wins in a season set back in 1999.  Sara Zampedri led the way for UC with a match high 24 kills to go along with 14 digs, while Allyson Grava and Kara Gipson finished with nine kills apiece.  Davey Slaughter tied her career-high with 23 kills, as Juliet Banks notched 20 digs and a pair of aces.  Kendall Arnold dished out 18 kills and 13 digs for the double-double, while Savanah Jolly notched 25 assists.

UC opened the match as Savanah Jolly connected with Sara Zampedri for a kill.  A couple points later, the Patriots notched three straight kills from Kara Gipson and Zampedri to put Cumberlands in front 4-1.  The Phoenix went on a 9-1 run before Jolly connected with Zampedri for her fourth kill cutting the deficit to 10-6.  Cumberland extended their lead to 20-7, before an Aleksandra Augustynik kill sparked a 6-1 Patriots run that featured a pair of aces cutting the deficit to 21-13.  The Patriots pulled within seven but that was the closest they got as the Phoenix took set one 25-17. 

The two teams traded points to open the second set as a Gipson kill sparked a three-point run putting UC in front 5-2.  A couple points later, the Patriots earned a trio of kills from Zampedri coupled with an Alana Shiery kill extended Cumberlands lead to 11-5.  The Phoenix went on a 7-1 run, before the Patriots notched six straight points, including back-to-back kills from Gipson to make it 18-11. CU went on a 9-3 run to pull within a point before Zampedri notched three kills as part of 4-1 run to close out the set 25-21 and even the score at 1-1.

After the Phoenix jumped out to an early lead in the third, Allyson Grava notched a kill to cut it 5-4.  The two teams traded points until a Shiery kill pulled UC within two at 12-10.  The Patriots went on an 11-0 run that included three kills from Zampedri and a pair of kills from Shiery and Jace Braden to give UC a 22-12 advantage. The Patriots went on to win the third set 25-16 to take a 2-1 advantage overall.

Cumberlands opened the fourth set with four unanswered points, including an ace from Kendall Arnold.  The Phoenix went on an 8-2 run, before back-to-back Patriots points evened t eh score at 8-8.  Cumberland utilized a run take the lead before UC began chipping away with a pair of kills from Zampedri coupled with a Grava kill pulled the Pats to 16-13.  The teams traded points until a three-point Phoenix run made it 23-16.  Grava and Zampedri each tallied a kill, while Slaughter added a pair of aces to cut the deficit to 23-20.  The Phoenix closed out the set 25-21 to force a decisive fifth set.

The Patriots opened the fifth set with five unanswered points, including two aces from Banks and a Gipson kill.  A couple plays later Zampedri notched an ace to extend UC's lead to 8-2.  The Phoenix pulled within a point twice before a Grava kill gave UC an 11-8 edge.  Jolly connected with Grava and Zampedri to make it 13-11 in favor of the Patriots.  Cumberland evened the score at 13-13 before Zampedri notched consecutive kills to take the set 15-13 and the 3-2 victory.
 
Cumberlands returns to the court on Thursday, November 7, when they travel to Bowling Green, KY to competed in the MSC Quarterfinals.  Stay tuned to www.cumberlandspatriots.com for the final bracket and game information.
 
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