Williamsburg, KY – The tenth-ranked Cumberlands volleyball team utilized a strong attack coupled with stellar defense as they opened Mid-South Conference play with a 3-0 (25-14, 25-20, 25-18) sweep over Lindsey Wilson. With the win, the Patriots improve to 13-3 on the year and 1-0 in conference play.
UC closed out the match with 42 kills and a .319 hitting percentage.
Sara Zampedri led the way with 12 kills, hitting .417, to go along with eight digs.
Brynnley Bryant added ten kills, while Jose Newcom notched eight kills and five digs.
Savanah Jolly tallied 36 assists and nine digs, while
Morgan Bentel tallied a team-best 11 digs.
Bryant notched a pair of kills to give Cumberlands an early 4-3 lead in the first set. After the Blue Raiders tied the match, UC responded with consecutive kills from Bryant and Zampedri sparked an 8-1 run, that included a pair of kills from
Alana Shiery to take a 14-7 advantage. The Patriots utilized another 8-1 run, including a trio of Shiery blocks extending the lead to 22-11. Jolly connected with Newcom to close out the set 25-14 and give UC the 1-0 lead.
Lindsey Wilson jumped out to a 4-3 lead in the second set before
Martina Frangella tallied a kill and a block putting UC in front 6-4. The Blue Raiders pulled within a point, however, a Zampedri kill coupled with an ace from
Kendall Yarber extended the lead to 11-8. A few plays later Bentel notched back-to-back aces as part of a six-point run to push the lead to 19-12. The two teams traded points until Cumberlands tallied three of the final four points of the set taking the set 25-20 and extending their lead to 2-0.
After the Blue Raides took a 4-1 lead, UC responded with five straight points, capped off with a kill from Frangella to take a 6-4 lead. Jolly connected on three assists as Cumberlands extended their lead to 10-7. The two teams traded points before consecutive kills from Zampedri and Bryant gave the Pats a 16-11 advantage. Cumberlands went on a five-point run, before closing out the match with a Shiery kill to take the set 25-18 and the 3-0 final.
Cumberlands returns to the court on Tuesday, September 22
nd, when they travel to face IU Southeast. First serve is set for 6 p.m.
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