Williamsburg, KY – The (RV) Patriots extended their unbeaten start to the season with a pair of sweeps on day two of the Cumberlands Invite. UC opened the afternoon with a 3-0 (25-13, 25-13, 25-21) win over Carolina University before closing out the night with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-13, 25-6) victory against Union Commonwealth. With the wins, the Patriots improve to 7-0 on the season. Savanah Jolly reached a milestone as she collected her 1000th career assist as a Patriot.

Sara Zampedri paced the Patriots on the day with 17 kills, 20 digs, and four aces, while Kara Gipson added 16 kills on a .600 hitting percentage. Alana Shiery posted 16 kills across the two matches, including a career-high ten kills against Carolina University. Brynnley Bryant chipped in 14 kills and 14 digs, while setter Savanah Jolly combined for 69 assists, while also adding 15 digs, and eight kills on the day. Davey Slaughter anchored the defense with 29 digs, and Autiana Wilson tallied six service aces. Overall, Cumberlands notched 83 kills, 25 service aces, and hit .335 across the two matches. 

Cumberlands Cruises Past Carolina in Day Two Opener 

Shiery set the tone for the Patriots with a career-high 10 kills and a .500 hitting percentage, while Gipson added nine kills on a .563 clip. Zampedri and Bryant tallied eight kills apiece, with Zampedri also leading the defense with 13 digs. Setter, Savanah Jolly, dished out 34 assists in the match, while also adding 11 digs for a double-double. Davey Slaughter collected a team-high 15 digs, and Wilson was dominant from the service line with five aces. 

UC jumped out to an early 10-3 lead in the opening set behind kills from Shiery and Gipson before pulling away for the 25-13 win. The Patriots duplicated the effort in the second frame as Wilson delivered back-to-back aces to extend the lead to 20-9, and Shiery closed the set with a kill, 25-13. Carolina fought back in the third, but a 6-2 run fueled by kills from Bryant and Zampedri gave UC the edge. Gipson sealed the sweep with a middle attack for the 25-21 win. 

Patriots Hit Over .400 in Sweep of Union Commonwealth 

Cumberlands carried the momentum into the evening match, hitting .413 as a team and spreading the offense to ten different players. Zampedri notched a team-high nine kills, while Augustyniak set a new career high with seven kills on .538 hitting. Gipson tallied seven kills and three blocks, while Shiery and Bryant added six kills apiece. Jolly directed the attack with 35 assists and chipped in four kills, while Slaughter led the defense with 14 digs. 

The Patriots pulled away late in the first set behind a balanced attack, earning the 25-16 win. In the second, Gipson and Shiery combined for six kills as UC opened up a double-digit lead on their way to a 25-13 win. The Patriots dominated the third frame, reeling off a 12-2 run and holding Union to a -.100 hitting percentage. Zampedri capped off the day with a kill to close out the 25-6 win and secure the sweep. 

Cumberlands returns to the court on Friday, September 5, when they travel to Kokomo, IN for the IU Kokomo Quad Tournament. The Pats will play two matches on Friday with the first one starting at noon ET against #8 IU Kokomo.  

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