Williamsburg, KY – The tenth-ranked Patriots volleyball team set the tone early, however, a late rally came up short as they fell to Bethel 3-2 (25-14, 18-25, 16-25, 9-15) Friday afternoon. UC moves to 9-2 on the season.
Brynnley Bryant led the way for Cumberlands with 13 kills and 16 digs, while
Sara Zampedri chipped in seven kills and nine digs.
Morgan Bentel notched a team-high 18 digs, while
Savanah Jolly tallied 38 assists and 14 digs.
The two teams traded points to open the match before a Bryant kill followed by an ace from
Autiana Wilson put Cumberlands in front 5-3. The Pilots responded with a run to take a 9-8 advantage, however a kill from
Alana Shiery but UC back in front 10-9. The match was tied twice more before UC went on a six-point run that was capped off with consecutive kills from Bryant to make it 19-11. The Pats closed out the set on a 5-1 run as Josie Necom clinched the point with a kill.
Bethel won the second and third sets to take a 2-1 lead.
In the fourth set, thew match was tied three-times, before the Pilots jumped out to a 9-4 lead. Cumberlands started to chip away as
Avery Schrenger notched back-to-back kills to pull UC within two points. A few plays later
Zuzanna Wolszewska and Shiery each tallied a kill to cut the deficit to 11-10. Bethel extended the lead to 15-11 before UC responded with a four-point run, highlight by a trio of blocks from the Pats defense. Cumberlands utilized another four-point run, capped off with a Wilson ace to give UC a 20-19 lead. The set was tied three times before a Newcom kill clinched the set 26-24 and forced a fifth set.
Cumberlands jumped out to a 5-3 lead in the fifth set. A 10-2 run from Bethel put them in front 10-8 en route to take the set 15-9 and the match 3-2.
The Patriots will return to the court Saturday, September 5
th, for day two of the Cumberland Invite. UC will face Carolina at 12 p.m. before facing Columbia International at 5 p.m. with live video available
here.
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