LEBANON, Tenn.-- Cumberland drops a four set battle to Life University, bringing the overall record to 3-5. Despite handling the Running Eagles in set one, the Phoenix struggled to find their momentum in the next three sets.

Luka Illic led the Phoenix attackers with 13 kills, followed by Kix Ferrell with seven. Caleb Ginnings recorded a game-high 12 digs and Jordan Pierce added 31 assists in the effort.

Life had three attackers in double-figures with Diego Martinez leading the way with 19 kills on an impressive .515 attack percent. Setter Netfy Vigo posted a double-double with 10 digs and 43 assists. As a team, the Phoenix hit a .152 percent compared to Life’s .339. Cumberland had nine more blocks than Life with 20 total.

The Phoenix were hot out of the gates going on a 5-2 run with three kills by Luka Ilic. Life would not let them pull away too much as they tied the match up at 9-9 and eventually took a one point lead. Both teams battled neck and neck to even the score at 20 all but Cumberland would go on a 5-0 run to close the set winning 25-20.

Cumberland controlled the pace in most of set two until the Running Eagles started to pull away late in the set. After an impressive start put the Phoenix up 14-9 in set two, Life went on a 9-1 run to take an 18-15 lead. Life continued to pull away late and pulled out their own 25-20 victory in set two to tie the match up at 1-1.

The Phoenix got off to a slow start in set three and never fully recovered. The match started out close with the score being 7-6 but Life quickly went on a 5-1 run to go up 12-7 in the match. Despite three errors from Life they still managed to push their lead to 20-12 over the Phoenix. Four different Phoenix recorded a kill in a 4-1 run but Life closed the door on set three with an attack error to win 25-17.

Cumberland recovered some of their energy in set four to remain close to the Running Eagles all throughout. The Phoenix improved offensively, hitting their highest kill count since the first set at 11.

Life found another early lead that they would hold down through the stretch of the set, but Cumberland never trailed by more than four points. The Phoenix struggled to go on any significant runs that would break the disadvantage.

Cumberland had an opportunity to tie up the match in the late stages as a pair of Phoenix kills brought the score to 21-20. Diego Martinez would prevent a tie game from happening with a big kill out of the outside. 

Martinez picked up three kills in Life’s final five points to end the set in their favor at 25-22.

The Phoenix wil head on the road this Thursday to face Midway University at 6 pm. This will kick off a long stretch of road matches for Cumberland.