Lebanon, Tenn.-- Men’s volleyball drops conference and home opener in three sets to #6 Georgetown College. This was the Tigers' fourth 3-0 win of the season so far as they have swept every match they have played in.

The Phoenix struggled to get going as they faced last year’s MSC Champions to begin conference play. The Tigers were solid from the front line through all three sets, ending with .290 team attack percentage. Cumberland’s attackers hit just a .048% as a team with seven more errors from the front row than Georgetown.

The Phoenix were led by Luca Illic who picked up a team high and matched the game high of 12 kills. Jordan Pierce recorded 18 assists while libero Caleb Ginnings added seven digs. Cumberland played impressive service receive all throughout, allowing only two Tigers aces in the three sets while putting away five of their own. The Phoenix had their own difficulties from behind the line, however, as they recorded 17 service errors in the effort- three more than Georgetown.

Ryan Gunn had an explosive night for the Tigers with 12 kills on a .400 attack percentage. The Tiger’s setter Kacper Dobrowolski pitched in a game high 25 assists.

CU hung with the Tigers in the first set in a back-and-fourth style of play until a 5-1 run from Georgetown shifted the momentum entirely in their favor for a 15-10 score. Tyler Sturzoiu brought it within three points for the Phoenix with back-to-back aces, but Gunn was quick to respond with a pair of kills to send CU into a timeout. Cumberland came out of the break with a trio of attack errors to give the Tigers an eight point advantage- a gap too large for the Phoenix to recover from. Georgetown took the set with a 25-17 score.

Cumberland posted their best stats of the match in set two, improving from a -.077 attack percentage to a solid .241. The Phoenix fell behind from an early three point run on Georgetown’s side but they never trailed by more than four from then on. Cumberland brought it within one on multiple occasions including at the set’s end when Kix Ferrell buried a ball for a 24-23 game. Cumberland dropped the set by only two on a service error with a 25-23 score.

The Phoenix were unable to pick up from where they left off in the second set and posted another negative attacking percentage while also allowing the Tiger’s only two aces of the match in set three. The Phoenix fell behind early and faced an uphill battle through the middle stages of the set. They were unable to get a run going and dropped the set with another 25-17 score.

Cumberland will be back on their home court next Friday when they take on RV Warner University at 6 pm.