West Palm Beach, Fla.--Cumberland Women's Volleyball splits the day for their final matches at the Chick-Fil-A Classic Tournament. The team fell 3-1 against Hastings University and were triumphant over RV Doane University in a 3-0 effort.

Cumberland took a quick 4 point lead to start the match against Hastings College. CU went on a 7 point run with Lauren Galvan registering two back-to-back deep corner kills, followed by a sharp swing from Hazel Konkel out of the middle. A service error from Cumberland followed by an ace from Hastings’ Mckenna Asher cut the Phoenix lead down to 3 points. The Broncos capitalized on this opening, nailing five kills in a row to take their first lead of the game. The Broncos went on an 8 point run before Luciana Arena broke into their momentum with a short tip to position 2. Two Bronco kills and a service ace from Majesta Valasek carried the Broncos to game point. A shut-down block followed by a kill from Izzy Curcio gave the Phoenix some hope, but the Broncos were able to take the set 25-20. 

The Phoenix started set two strong with a kill from Galvan on the outside and a block from Konkel.The Broncos responded with two kills of their own and two service aces, allowing them to take the lead. The Phoenix went on a 5-1 run to claim a 4 point lead which started with two big kills from Victoria Johnson. The Broncos utilized the holes in Cumberland’s block to cut their lead down to 2. Hastings went on a 9 point run to take their largest lead in the set, fueled by 4 Phoenix attacking errors and 3 sharp cuts into the Phoenix court by Brianna Lemke. A kill from freshman Layla Wandel put an end to the run at 14-18. An immediate Phoenix service error gave the ball back to the Broncos and they ran with it for 4 more points, forcing Cumberland to make substitutions. Kennedy Pugh interrupted the Bronco momentum with a shot on the line, the start of a 4 point run for Cumberland. A kill off of the Phoenix block from Peyton Roper ended the set with a Hastings win 25-20. The Phoenix hit a .000 percent as a team, compared to the Broncos’ .182. 

The Broncos carried their momentum into the third set, earning 4 back-to-back kills on the Phoenix right out of the gate. Konkel earned the first point for the Phoenix with a kill out of the middle. Reid and Johnson registered kills of their own, to which the Broncos responded with a back-row shot to the deep 6 position. The Phoenix went on their first major run that started with a huge kill from Wandel out of the middle. The Broncos broke away once again, gaining a 3 point advantage and capitalizing on a few Phoenix ball handling errors. Reid and Curcio combined for 2 kills that broke the Bronco lead down to 1. Back-to-back kills from Galvan brought the Phoenix to their first lead of the game at 20-18, forcing the Broncos into a time out. A service error from Cumberland threatened their lead, but Galvan quickly responded with another rip down the middle of the Bronco court. A kill from Bronco Brianna Lemke tied up the match at 20-20 but a Bronco service error and back-to-back kills from the Phoenix gave Cumberland a 23-21 advantage. Two attack errors from the Broncos allowed the Phoenix to take the set at 25-22. Cumberland improved their hitting tremendously from the last set, finishing set 3 with a .324 percentage.

The Broncos started set 4 with a service ace and two kills from Brianna Lemke. A deep shot from Mckenna Asher and a hitting error from the Phoenix expanded the Bronco lead 5-0. A service error from the Broncos gave Cumberland their first point of the game, but Lemke immediately responded with a deep swing from the outside. 3 Bronco errors cut their lead down and allowed Cumberland to make a run. The Phoenix took their first lead of the game at 10 points due to a missed set from the Broncos. The teams battled in a point-for-point style play, with neither team taking a significant lead until a few Phoenix attacking errors helped the Broncos to a 3 point advantage. Cumberland took the lead of the game with a kill from Reid that forced the Broncos into a time out. The last few points of the set were tight, with an attacking error from Cumberland giving their opponent a 22-21 lead. 2 Phoenix errors and an ace from the Broncos allowed them to secure the win 25-23. Harlee Reid led the Phoenix with 13 kills. Libero Shea Moore had a solid match with a team high of 22 digs. 

The Phoenix came out strong in the first set against Doane University, going on a 7-1 run right off the bat and forcing the Tigers to take an early time out. Curcio, Arena, and Galvan each registered a kill during the run, along with a big block from Arena in the middle.The Tigers broke the run with a back row attack from Ally Wallace. Cumberland expanded their lead to 7 points with Reid shutting down a Tiger over-pass. The Tigers cut CU’s lead down to three, capitalizing on a few missed swings from the Phoenix. Cumberland kept the pressure on for the remainder of the set, cruising past the Tigers 25-19. The Phoenix hit an impressive .483 percent, making only 3 errors total in the set. 

Doane took their first lead of the match in the second set after a few errors on Cumberland’s part. The set was back and forth for the first half, with the Phoenix taking their first lead after a kill from Johnson at 10-9. 3 back-to-back heavy handed kills from Reid expanded the Phoenix advantage, forcing the Tigers into a timeout. The Tigers closed in on the Phoenix with a 3 point run towards the end of the set, but Cumberland stayed consistent in their energy and pulled out a 25-22 win. 

The Tigers established an early lead in the third set with an 8-3 scoreboard. The Phoenix chipped away at the lead with Galvan and Konkel capitalizing on Tiger over-passes for the kill. Cumberland went on a 4 point run to tie the game 15-15. The Phoenix took their first lead of the set with an over-pass swipe from Konkel, however 2 back-to-back hitting errors from CU brought them back two points behind the opponent. In a tight close, a kill from Curcio and an attacking error on the other allowed Cumberland to pull out the 25-23 win. Nicole Bott led the team in assists with 23 over the 3 sets, while Harlee Reid registered 12 kills with a .346 hitting percentage.