Milligan, TN – Patriots Volleyball (8-0) finished the Milligan Mountain Madness Tournament unblemished after securing a pair of hard-earned wins over Milligan (1-3) and Blue Mountain Christian (5-1), on Saturday afternoon. Across the two matches, UC compiled 117 kills, 109 assists, five service aces, and six blocks.

UC Overcomes Milligan, 3-1 (28-26, 25-23, 20-25, 25-18)
Leading Cumberlands in attacks was Allyson Grava, with 18 kills for 18 points, while Aleksandra Augustyniak, Kara Gipson, and Sara Zampedri tallied 10 kills each. Defensively, Juliet Banks collected 23 digs and three assists. Savanah Jolly led the team with 29 assists and three blocks.

The Pats were quickly tied with the Buffs at 4-4, seeing kills from Augustyniak, Gipson, and Grava in the first set of the match. After trailing 8-4, UC went on a five-point run to reenter the lead. On that run, Faith Franklin notched back-to-back kills followed by two Milligan attacking errors, and a kill hit by Zampedri, 9-8. The Patriots went back-and-forth with the Buffaloes until kills from Franklin and Gipson sealed the first-set win at 28-26.

In the second set, UC led 2-1 off two Buff errors, but fell to a 7-3 deficit. Four points with kills by Grava and Franklin, along with an ace served by Augustyniak, allowed the Patriots to tie the score at 7-7. Zampedri and Gipson kills and a bad set on Milligan's side pulled Cumberlands into an 11-9 lead. The Pats pulled themselves further ahead with a five-point run, 19-13, recording two kills from Jori Dowling and one kill from both Augustyniak and Grava. The Buffaloes evened the score at 20-20, but three kills by Grava, one from Zampedri, and a Milligan attacking error settled the set with the Pats ahead, 25-23.

With the third set dropped, 25-20 to the Buffaloes, UC won the fourth set with power. The two teams exchanged points until the Patriots harnessed the momentum with nine consecutive points, 16-9. Zampedri opened the run with a kill, while Banks and Gipson followed with one a piece. Back-to-back kills by Grava, one from Augustyniak and Franklin, along with two Milligan errors propelled the Pats. Rayne Manning and Franklin marked kills and Augustyniak tallied another service ace to deepen the lead to 20-12. Four more points, collected with kills from Franklin, Zampedri, and Augustyniak put UC up 23-16. A Buffalo service error and one final kill by Gipson closed the 3-1 win over Milligan.

 
UC Glides Past Toppers, 3-0 (27-25, 25-21, 28-26)
Graduate student, Allyson Grava, tallied a team-high of 19 kills and Kendall Arnold the Pats with 25 assists. Libero, Juliet Banks, marked 13 digs and Aleksandra Augustyniak followed with 12.
The Pats showed their grit in a close win in the first set over Blue Mountain Christian, 27-25. UC found themselves down 5-0 until a kill by Augustyniak and a bad set on the Toppers put Cumberlands on the board. Two Blue Mountain errors and a Faith Franklin kill helped UC close the gap to 9-5. Grava tied the set at 13-13 with a kill set by Arnold, but the Toppers moved forward to lead UC 19-15. The two teams swapped points until a Grava kill and a Blue Mountain Christian attacking error ended the set with Cumberlands on top.

The second set saw a quick 5-5 tied score before UC took a 7-5 lead, capitalizing on the Toppers' errors. Blue Mountain Christian entered a lead of 11-9, but Grava and Kara Gipson kills, in addition to a service ace by Arnold shifted UC in front, 12-11. Grava tallied three continuous kills to extend the Patriots' lead to 19-12. The Toppers attempted to catch up, however six UC kills ended the set at 25-21.

Cumberlands opened the third set 3-0, recording kills from Sara Zampedri and Gipson. Two Grava kills took the score to 7-6, but the Toppers moved into an 11-10 advantage. A four-point run on a kill from Gipson, Franklin, and Grava with an ace served by Banks sent the Pats into control, 15-13. BMCU caught up and Zampedri leveled the score at 19-19 with a kill. The teams swapped points until a pair of kills by Savanah Jolly and Alana Shiery wrapped up the match.

The Patriots will host Midway in their home opener on Wednesday, August 28^th at 7 p.m. in the UC Volleyball Gym.

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