Campbellsville, KY – #20 Cumberlands opened Mid-South Conference play on a high note, earning a straight-set win over Campbellsville 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-16) Tuesday night at Gosser Gym. With the victory, the Patriots remain unbeaten on the season, moving to 14-0 overall and 1-0 in conference play. 

Sara Zampedri once again paced the UC offense with 16 kills, three aces, and seven digs to finish with a match-high 20 points. Alana Shiery had a breakout performance, posting a career-high 11 kills on an impressive .769 hitting percentage. Elaina Fischer added a perfect 4-for-4 with four blocks for six points, while Kara Gipson chipped in five kills and recorded a career-high seven blocks to anchor the front line. Setter Savanah Jolly kept the attack balanced with 37 assists and added three kills, an ace, and five digs. Defensively, Davey Slaughter led the way with 12 digs. 

The opening set was tightly contested with 13 ties and seven lead changes. Neither side led by more than three until late, when kills from Zampedri and Fischer fueled a 4-1 UC run to push the Patriots ahead 22-18. From there, UC closed out the frame 25-20 behind another Zampedri kill. 

In the second, Campbellsville jumped ahead early 9-6 before UC responded. A pair of kills from Shiery and a block by Gipson flipped the momentum, and the Patriots strung together a 7-2 run to take control. Zampedri's ace capped off the set at 25-20 as Cumberlands hit a blistering .414 in the frame.  

The Patriots carried that momentum into the third, racing out to an 11-4 lead after back-to-back kills from Shiery and Gipson. Campbellsville cut the deficit to five midway through, but UC slammed the door with a 7-2 stretch powered by three kills from Zampedri. Fischer's block at the net sealed the 25-16 win and completed the sweep. 

Cumberlands hit .310 as a team with 45 kills and 16 blocks, while holding Campbellsville to a .202 hitting clip on the night. 

UC will be back in action Thursday September 18th for a road matchup against Midway. The match is set to begin at 6 p.m. ET.

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