LEBANON, Tenn. – Arthur Amorim recorded nine kills and Christian Lester added seven but Trinity Christian hit .281 as a team and Eddie Binion led the Trolls with nine kills in a 3-0 victory over Cumberland in men’s volleyball action Friday night in Palos Heights, Ill.
The Phoenix (9-20) committed almost as many errors (20) as kills (24) in the loss. Jordan Pierce registered 14 assists and Brian Hogg collected nine digs for CU. Trinity Christian (11-9) had four players with seven-plus kills and Danny Lawrence handed out 32 assists to lead the home team.
Amorim posted three kills and Tyler Sturzoiu added a service ace, helping the Phoenix even the first set at nine. Jonathan Poortinga and Binion netted kills during a 5-1 spurt for the Trolls, but Lester and Amorim had kills and two TCC errors helped CU get within 15-13.
Kills from Binion and Jake Ostema put Trinity Christian ahead, 17-13, before Cumberland battled back again thanks to two kills by Pierce. The Phoenix committed three errors in the last six points and Danny Lawrence added a kill to end the set for the home team, 25-18.
Amorim and Stephan Davis started the second set with kills for a 5-5 score and Lester and Sturzoiu posted a block, one of eight in the match for CU, before a kill by Lester and a service ace from Sturzoiu gave Cumberland an 8-6 edge. Ostema and Binion collected kills and Ostema and Lawrence provided a block for TCC, but Pierce and Davis answered with kills for the Phoenix.
Amorim registered a kill and he and Davis got a block for a 14-10 CU advantage. Two more kills by Amorim made it 16-11, but the Trolls ran off five straight points to even the set behind spikes by Lawrence and Binion and a pair of Cumberland errors.
Lester collected a kill and Sturzoiu added a service ace, but Poortinga and Binion each posted kills for the Trolls, who took a 21-18 lead. Hogg netted a kill for CU and Davis and Amorim tallied a block, pulling the Phoenix within 22-21, and a service ace by Pierce evened the set.
Lawrence, Dan Ryan and Poortinga recorded kills in the last four points for a 25-23 set win for Trinity Christian.
Pierce and Amorim opened the third set with a block, but a kill from Binion and a block by Ostema and Ben Tocila along with two Cumberland errors gave the Trolls an early 6-3 edge. Sturzoiu collected a kill for CU, but Tocila registered two and Binion added one for a 10-7 TCC advantage.
Trinity Christian opened the lead to 14-9 thanks to kills by Poortinga and Ostema and a block by Ostema and Lawrence. Davis and Lester had kills for Cumberland, but the Trolls continued to expand the advantage behind kills by Ostema and Tocila and a block from Ryan and Poortinga.
Lester recorded two kills for CU, cutting the deficit to 20-14, and added another late in the set. Isaiah Gifford and Matthew Butnariu scored two of the last four points for the Trolls, completing the match, 25-16.
Cumberland plays at St. Xavier University at 10 a.m. on Saturday and heads back to Trinity Christian for a 12:30 p.m. match versus eighth-ranked Mount Mercy University.
