West Palm Beach, FL – The Patriots (2-0) defeated the eleventh-ranked Spartans of Missouri Baptist (0-3), in three sets, (26-24, 25-22, 25-18). and Taylor (1-1) in four (25-23, 23-25, 25-22, 25-21) on Friday evening at the Viper Sports Academy Classic, hosted by Keiser University. The matchup against Missouri Baptist was the first time Cumberlands took a win over a ranked opponent since 2016. Across the two season-opening games, UC combined for 75 kills, 16 service aces, and 13 blocks.
UC Dominates No. 11 Missouri Baptist, 3-0
Allyson Grava led the way in hitting for the Pats, totaling 10 kills, while
Aleksandra Augustyniak tallied eight.
Kendall Arnold notched 12 assists and 12 digs across the three sets. The libero,
Juliet Banks, recorded 13 digs and scored three points for UC with three service aces.
In the first set,
Sara Zampedri opened with a kill assisted by Arnold, to lead 1-0, but fell to an 8-5 deficit. A kill by freshman,
Faith Franklin, a service ace from Grava, and back-to-back kills by Augustyniak and Zampedri trimmed the gap to 10-9. After back-and-forth exchanges, Grava tied the set at 14-14 and put Cumberlands in a 16-15 lead with another kill.
Davey Slaughter capitalized on a service ace, a Spartan attacking error, and a kill by
Kara Gipson to move ahead, 20-18. The Pats gained three points, 23-18, on Missouri Baptist errors. To secure a 26-24 win,
Savanah Jolly set Grava up for a kill.
UC came from behind in the second set, after being down 9-1, with a four-point run on a kill by Franklin and two services aces from Banks, 9-5. A service error on the Spartans, a trio of kills by Zampedri, and a service ace with a kill by Grava, tied the set at 16-16. From there, UC scored two points on attack errors and a kill added on by Augustyniak, 19-18. To close the set, Missouri Baptist made five attacking errors.
The Patriots started the final set with a 2-0 lead on a kill by Augustyniak and an attack error on the opposing team. After falling behind 4-2, Grava sparked the momentum with a kill and a double block assisted by Franklin, 6-5. Augustyniak aced the Spartans and Jolly tied the score at 7-7 with a kill. The Patriots took the lead at 10-9 and did not surrender it again. Kills recorded by Augustyniak and Grava, along with four errors from Missouri Baptist secured the Cumberlands Sweep, 25-18.
UC Powers Past the Trojans, 3-1
Outside hitters,
Allyson Grava and
Sara Zampedri, accounted for 11 kills and one service ace each. Defensively,
Kara Gipson tallied 5 assisted blocks
After Taylor took a 3-0 lead in the first set, UC gained on them with two kills hit by Augustyniak and one from Zampedri, along with an ace, 4-3. Points were traded back-and-forth, but UC went on a four-point streak on two aces notched by Banks and a kill from Grava to catch up to the Titans, 19-16. Franklin and Augustyniak put up two more points and capitalized on an error, 20-19, forcing Taylor to take a timeout. Grava came with force, marking a kill and an ace to propel the Pats into a 22-21 lead. A pair of kills from Zampedri and Jolly rounded out the set, for a final 25-23 score.
Cumberlands rallied to win the third set, 25-22, after coming up short in the second. The score reached a quick tie at 6-6, but two kills by
Kara Gipson and one from Augustyniak sent the Pats into an 11-8 lead. For the rest of the set, UC would remain in control, recording six kills and taking advantage of six attack errors on the Titan's side.
To complete their second win of the 2024 season, the Pats opened with a 3-1 lead off two attack errors and a kill from Zampedri. Two kills from Grava, followed by an ace from Augustyniak gave UC a slight 7-5 lead, but the Titans tied the score at 7-7. Both teams exchanged points, along with the advantage, however the Patriots were spurred on with three kills from Zampedri and one added by Gipson. An attack error by Taylor and a final kill by Grava closed the match at 25-21.
Cumberlands will continue play at the Viper Sports Academy Classic, taking on Southeastern at 10 a.m. and Webber International at 2 p.m. on Saturday August 17
th at Keiser University.
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