McPherson, Kan.-- Cumberland men’s volleyball split day two of the Central Christian Invitational with a hard-fought loss to RV Jamestown and a 3-0 sweep over Central Christian.

Cumberland 2, Jamestown 3

The Phoenix put up a solid fight with Jamestown but ultimately dropped the deciding fifth set 15-11.

Jordan Pierce recorded an impressive count of 55 assists and team-high nine digs in the effort. Luka Illic tied for a game-high 18 kills, while Codville Rogers added 13 of his own. Christian Lester also had a solid match, going for 10 kills and eight digs.  

Cumberland came out swinging in set one as Pierce set up two attackers for a pair of kills and added an ace himself. Jamestown was quick to retaliate with some crucial blocks to tie up the score, and it was an even match for the majority of the set.

The Phoenix made a break in scoring on a 6-2 run to go up 20-15. Cumberland would hold down the lead from then on and Lester ended the set with a right-side swing at 25-20.

Jamestown recovered excellently in set two while CU struggled at the net. They climbed to a 12-6 lead, with six of their points coming from Phoenix attacking errors.

Jamestown would control the momentum for the entire set and took a dominant 25-12 victory.

Cumberland made a much needed recovery in set three which was a neck-and-neck race from start to finish. 

The teams traded points all set long as CU nearly tripled their kill count from set two. Down the stretch, it was a tied match at 25-25 and Illic made big moves from the outside to end it in Cumberland’s favor. He recorded back-to-back kills to earn the 27-25 win. 

The Phoenix fell short in set four as they once again struggled to find any significant scoring run opportunities. Jamestown took the lead at the 3-2 scoreboard and held it down for the remainder of the set. 

Jamestown led by as many as seven in the set and despite coming within three points multiple times, CU was unable to find more than a two point scoring stretch.

Jamestown ended the win at 25-19 with a kill from Caylor Cox, forcing a fifth set.

Set five was a tight battle from the first serve as the teams went back and forth trading points. Illic brought Cumberland up by one at 9-8, but the next five points would fall in Jamestown’s favor. That 5-0 run proved to be detrimental to CU as they were unable to recover and fell just short of the victory.

Cumberland 3, Central Christian 0

Cumberland had a quick turnaround from their five set battle, but handled business with a 3-0 sweep over the tournament’s host. 

Luka Illic had another great game for CU with eight kills on an impressive .636 attack percentage. Jordan Pierce and Sam Mannebach split the setting duties and registered 16 assists apiece. 

The Phoenix went on an early four point run- during which Christian Lester connected on back-to-back swings- to take a 9-6 lead. Cumberland controlled the momentum for the rest of the set as the Tiger attackers struggled to find flooring. 

Cumberland doubled Central Christian’s kill count to take the set with a 25-18 score.

The Tigers were held to a single-digit score for the majority of set two as CU stayed consistent. 

The Phoenix had their most successful defensive performance of the game in set two as they allowed only one kill to come from the Tigers. CU cruised to a 25-11 win as they headed into the final set.

Set three was a tougher fight as the Tigers challenged CU to extend the game. 

Despite leading by seven points multiple times throughout the set, Cumberland faced a 23-20 battle as Central Christian found late-game energy.

The final two points would fall in CU’s favor with a pair of kills from Kaden Kuehler and Tyler Sturzoui. 

After a long stretch of road games, Cumberland returns home for a conference match on March 14. They will take on Thomas More at 4 pm in the Dallas Floyd Phoenix Arena.