Williamsburg, KY – The tenth-ranked Patriots volleyball team earned a pair of 3-0 sweeps over Carolina and Columbia International to close out the Cumberlands Invite Saturday afternoon. With the wins, UC improves to 11-2 on the season.
Brynnley Bryant led the way with 30 kills and 22 digs, while
Josie Newcom added 21 kills over the two matches.
Savanah Jolly dished out 74 assists and 20 digs, as
Morgan Bentel notched a team-best 23 digs and four kills.
Ryann Livingston and
Autiana Wilson tallied 16 digs each, while
Alana Shiery finished with 12 blocks.
Patriots Attack Led the Way in 3-0 Sweep over Bruins
Bryant recorded 19 kills and 14 digs to pace the way for Cumberlnads, while Martina Grangella and
Josie Newcom notched seven kills each.
Savanah Jolly dished out 38 assists to go along with eight digs, while
Morgan Bentel notched 14 digs and four aces.
Carolina jumped out to a 7-3 lead before Jolly connected with
Elaina Fischer for a kill as UC pulled within two. The two teams traded points until Bryant tallied a pair of kills as pair of a four-point run giving the Patriots an 11-10 lead. Bryant and Fischer each added a kill before an ace from Jolly extended Cumberlands lead to 14-11. UC went on a three-point run before closing out the set with four unanswered points, capped off with a block from Frangella and Fischer for the 25-18 score.
Bryant tallied three kills as Cumberlands took a 5-4 lead in the second set. UC strung together a pair of consecutive points including back-to-back kills from
Josie Newcom making it 10-8. The set was tied twice before Jolly connected with Frangella for a kill, before converting a pair of aces to make it 15-12. The Cougars pulled within a point, however, a 4-1 run by UC gave them a 20-16 lead. Carolina battled back cutting the lead to 234-23, however a kill from
Avery Schrenger clinched the set extending the Pats lead to 2-0.
Cumberlands opened the third set with five straight points, including an ace from Bentel. The Patriots notched runs of four-points and three-points, capped off with a kill from Fischer to make it 13-3.
Autiana Wilson added an ace as part of a five-point run, before Cumberlands scored the final six points of the set as an
Allison Moneypenny kill, clinched the set 25-9 and the 3-0 final.
Newcom has Career-Day as Pats Sweep Rams 3-0
Josie Newcom notched a career-best 14 kills to lead UC, while Bryant added 11 kills and eight digs.
Savanah Jolly notched a team-best 12 digs along with 36 assists, while
Alana Shiery tallied a season-best eight blocks along with six kills.
CIU took an early 3-1 lead, however a three-point run for UC put the Patriots in front 4-3. Cumberlands utilized a 5-1 run, which was capped of with a block from Shiery and Newcom, extended UC's lead to 9-7. The set was tied five times, before the Rams took a 17-14 lead. The Patriots responded as Bryant notched back-to-back kills tying the match at 20-20. The teams traded points until a kill from Shiery sparked a 3-0 as the Patriots took the set 26-24 and the 1-0 lead.
The match was tied at 2-2 before a three-point run with a kill from Newcom give UC a 5-2 advantage.
Kendall Yarber added a pair of aces to extend Cumberlands lead to 9-3. Cumberlands utilized a 5-1 run, including a pair of blocks giving UC a 14-6 advantage. The Rams tallied eight straight points to even the score before an
Avery Schrenger kill coupled with a block from Frangella and Jolly made it 16-14. UC used a 4-1 run to extend their lead to 21-18, before scoring the final three points of the set to take the set 25-20 and the 2-0 lead.
Cumberlands opened the third set with five unanswered points, including a pair of aces from
Ryann Livingston. The two traded points until UC used a 5-1 run to extend their lead to 13-6. A few points later, Newcom and Jolly combined for three straight kills giving Cumberlands a 21-14 lead. UC closed out the set on 4-1 run, capped of with a kill from Bryant to take the set 25-16 and the match 3-0.
The Patriots will return to the court Saturday, September 12
th, when they travel to Columbia, KY for a pair of matches against Fisk at 12:30 p.m. and Blue Mountain State at 3 p.m.
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