LEBANON, TENN. - - Cumberland Women's Volleyball split their season opener, losing their opening matchup against William Carey 3-0, but stormed back to take down Ave Maria in three sets to end the night.
Set one went back and forth the whole set. The Phoenix were never down more than two points until WCU finished with four straight to win the first set 25-22. Five Phoenix combined for 11 kills in set one.
Set two was a hot start for the Crusader's of William Carey pulling away by seven points making the score 11-4. The Phoenix battled back and brought themselves back in the game highlighted by four Nicole Roeder serves. An Elaine Shaneyfelt ace brought the Phoenix within one making the score 22-21. The Crusader's of WCU went on to score three straight points to take the win in set two.
The Phoenix started hot in set three starting out 16-9 with multiple runs by Emma Chavers, and a combined seven kills through 16 points; However, the Phoenix could not hold onto the lead and the Crusader's came back and tied the game at 16 a piece. After tying it up, it was back and forth until WCU scored three straight to finish the game winning 3-0.
Hazel Konkel led the Phoenix in game one with eight kills and Lila Cade finished with seven. Elaine Shaneyfelt and Kaleigh Glass played well on the defensive side while Shaneyfelt recorded 15 digs and Glass followed up with 11. Nicole Roeder led in the assist column with a 17 assist game.
For the Crusader's, Evelyn Araujo, Sofia Bettini, and Gabriela Maceira all recorded double digit digs on the defensive side. Lima also brings a double-double to the table recording 12 kills to add to her 12 digs in the game.
The Phoenix started on the backfoot as the Gyrenes jumped out to an early 4-1 lead but the home side managed to stop the bleeding and would lead some ten points later. At the midway point of the set it looked like Ave Maria might have jumped out of Cumberland's reach as the Phoenix threw up seven service errors, but kept their cool and were carried to a 25-23 victory by 16 kills.
Starting off in a similar manner to the first frame, Cumberland trailed 3-0 and had to claw their way back early. The story of the match seemed to center around serving with the Phoenix's early woes haunting them in the second set, combining for 16 service errors and Gyrene aces up to that point. Again though CU's attack looked to bail out the side, totaling 33 kills in the match after a marathon 30-28 second set.
Finishing where the first two sets started, the two sides traded shots back and forth, with the Phoenix dropping five points to service errors but landing blow after blow from Hazel Konke and company. The first team all conference selection put on a clinic with six of the thirteen Phoenix kills coming from her side of the floor, putting away Ave Maria with their largest lead of the day, 25-18.
By the end of the three sets there were three different Cumberland players who managed more kills than the next closest Gyrene. The aforementioned Konkel put together a career night with 17 kills while Haley Mitchell trailed her 11 and freshman Lila Cade was a kill better than any AMU player.
Statistically the Phoenix were all over the Gyrenes with their hitting stats looking terrific on the night, hitting .257 as Cumberland nearly hit the 50 kills mark as a team. Nicole Roeder put in another shift with 22 assists, backed up by Emma Chavers with 18.
The Phoenix are back in action tomorrow, facing off against Missouri Valley at 1:00 PM and then ending the Phoenix Classic against Fisk.
