Rio Grande, Ohio-- Phoenix men’s volleyball has an impressive outing at the Rio Grande tri-match going 2-0. Cumberland swept the host 3-0 to start the day, then turned around and handled St. Andrews 3-1. 

Cumberland 3, Rio Grande 0

Cumberland’s first battle of the day was against the host of the tri match, during which CU’s attackers were consistent and relentless. The Phoenix posted a fantastic .477 team attack percentage to earn a dominant 3-0 sweep over Rio Grande.

Christian Lester and Luka Illic led the campaign combining for 21 of Cumberland’s 48 kills. Lester went errorless in the game with 11 kills for an impressive .647 percent. Caleb Ginnings held down the defensive side of things with a game-high 13 digs.  

Cumberland jumped to an early lead in set one with a pair of kills from Lester and Illic for a 2-0 start. The Phoenix would stay ahead for the remainder of the set, spreading it as far as eight points at 20-12 with the help of a 7-1 run. Cumberland was nearly perfect from the front row, committing only one attack error over the set compared to six at Rio Grande’s net. Austin Runyard slammed CU’s final point for a 25-17 victory.

The Phoenix once again got hot early with a 4-0 run to begin set two, during which Illic put away two balls from the outside. They remained on top through the middle stages by at least five points, posting a fantastic .560 team attack percentage and adding two blocks. Coldville Rogers earned Cumbeland’s 25th point with a big swing out of the middle, securing the ten point victory at 25-15.

Rio Grande tightened up their play in set three to put pressure on Cumberland. Despite falling behind early at the hands of a 4-0 CU run, RGU battled back and cut the deficit to two at 12-10. Lester retaliated quickly, however, as he put away a trio of back-to-back kills to push Cumberland’s lead back out to four. Rio Grande fought hard to force a fourth set, but the Phoenix picked up some crucial late-set kills to earn the 25-22 win.

Cumberland 3, St. Andrews 1

The Phoenix closed out the day with a 3-1 win over St. Andrews for a 2-0 weekend.

Christian Lester had another great match for CU as he racked up 15 kills on and 13 digs for a double-double. Kix Ferrell and Kaden Kuehler also recorded double-figure kills with 11 and ten respectively. Jordan Pierce played well all throughout with 41 assists and Caleb Ginnings went for a game-high 15 digs.

The Phoenix came into set one with all the energy in their favor as quick back-to-back kills from Lester created an advantage that they protected through the entire set. The Knights struggled offensively, earning only six kills compared to 16 from the Phoenix attackers. Cumberland earned the last three points of the set with a setter dump from Pierce and a pair of solo blocks by Codville Rogers.

The Knights put up a tougher fight in set two, taking their first lead of the match at 6-5 aided by a 3-0 scoring run. Cumberland recovered quickly with Ferrell behind the service line for a four point run that put them back out front. The teams traded points from that moment on with ties at 20-20, 21-21, and 22-22. The set would fall in CU’s favor at 25-23 as Joseph Akeo and Pierce combined for a block. 

The Knights established a lead early on in set three and pushed it out to six at 9-3, forcing CU into a timeout. The Phoenix were playing catch up for the majority of the set as they were unable to get anything going offensively. St. Andrews cruised through the set 25-13, posting their best attack percentage (.391) of the match while Cumberland recorded their lowest (-.067) of the day.

Cumberland improved their play in set four for an early 7-3 run during which Pierce put away two kills. The Phoenix pushed the deficit as far as nine points as they rolled through the set with all of the momentum and energy. Cumberland connected on 19 attacks while only committing one error in the set. The Phoenix handled business with a 25-16 victory.