Williamsburg, KY – The No. 9 seed Patriots made history Saturday night, defeating Columbia International University 3-1 (20-25, 38-36, 25-15, 25-17) in the NAIA Opening Round inside the UC Volleyball Gym to advance to the NAIA Final Site in Sioux City, Iowa for the first time in program history. The win improves the Patriots to 35-0 on the season, extending their unbeaten streak and marking another milestone in a record-setting year.
Brynnley Bryant delivered a career performance, recording a personal-best 21 kills on a .348 hitting percentage to lead UC's attack.
Alana Shiery also posted a career-high 13 kills and added six total blocks, while
Kara Gipson matched her with 13 kills and six block assists.
Sara Zampedri rounded out a powerful offensive showing with 15 kills, 15 digs, and two blocks for her 12th double-double of the season.
Setter
Savanah Jolly was the driving force behind UC's offense, dishing out a career-high 58 assists to go along with 15 digs, four kills, and a block assist.
Davey Slaughter anchored the defense with a team-high 23 digs, while the Patriots also tallied 16 team blocks and 12 service aces in the win.
After dropping the first set 25-20, the Patriots rallied in an epic second frame that featured 12 ties and four lead changes. UC held off multiple set points before Bryant and Zampedri came through with a kill from Byrant and a service ace from Slaughter to close out the 38-36 win—the longest set in program history.
Cumberlands carried that momentum into the third, hitting .344 as a team and cruising to a 25-15 victory behind dominant play from Shiery and Gipson at the net.
The fourth set tested UC's resilience once again as the Patriots fell behind 4-1 and later trailed 10-8. From there, Cumberlands surged behind steady serving and timely offense, outscoring CIU 17-7 the rest of the way. With the match on the line, UC closed on a dominant seven-point run, capped by a kill from
Kara Gipson to seal the 25-17 victory and punch the program's first-ever ticket to Sioux City.
With the victory, the Patriots advance to the NAIA Final Site in Sioux City, Iowa, where they will compete among the top 24 teams in the nation. Match details for UC's first-round opponent will be announced in the coming days.
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