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Cumberland University

Pilot Invitational
3
Winner Cumberland (TN) CUMBERLA 3-1, 0-0
1
Calumet (IN) CALUMET 1-2, 0-0
Winner
Cumberland (TN) CUMBERLA
3-1, 0-0
3
Final
1
Calumet (IN) CALUMET
1-2, 0-0
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Cumberland (TN) CUMBERLA 21 25 25 25 (3)
Calumet (IN) CALUMET 25 21 21 22 (1)
3
Winner Cumberland (TN) CUMBERLA 4-1, 0-0
2
Judson (IL) JUDSON ( 2-2, 0-0
Winner
Cumberland (TN) CUMBERLA
4-1, 0-0
3
Final
2
Judson (IL) JUDSON (
2-2, 0-0
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Cumberland (TN) CUMBERLA 25 20 25 23 16 (3)
Judson (IL) JUDSON ( 19 25 22 25 14 (2)

Next Match:

at King University

2/14/2025 | 5:00 PM

Next Match

Full Schedule
Feb. 14 (Fri) / 5:00 PM
at King University
History

Game Recap: Men's Volleyball |

Men's Volleyball Complete Perfect Weekend at Adidas Game-One Pilot Invitational

MISHAWAKA, Ind. - - After a big win over hosts Bethel (Ind.), the Cumberland Men's Volleyball team took down Calumet and Judson, winning the former 3-1 and the latter in a thrilling five set win.

Cumberland began the game just slightly behind the eight ball, struggling to score more than one point at a time while the Crimson Wave ran out to a 14-7 lead in the first set. Joao Infante sparked a bit of a run at that point though, managing back-to-back kills as the Phoenix went on a run to make it a 17-17 match.

Bringing it that close showed Cumberland's fight, but the first set was destined to go Calumet's way. The Crimson Wave stretched their lead out to 21-17, making for a comfortable gap to win 25-21 in the end.

Set two played out more in the Phoenix's favor, taking an early lead, though each team traded shots back and forth. Infante kept up his big play, smashing two more kills to help Cumberland take the set 25-21.

Like the third set, the Phoenix and Crimson Wave battled back and forth with neither team gaining much ground on each other, though Cumberland made big shots when they needed to. The third set made it all the way to 19-19, but Joao Infante hit three kills in the Phoenix's final five points to give them a boost, and a 2-1 lead in the match.

With all of the momentum on the side of the Phoenix's, the match went all the way down 17-17 like many of the previous sets, but Cumberland had victory on their mind. The Phoenix had a match point for five points in a row, finally taking the win for CU was who else but Joao Infante.

The first year Phoenix was all over the court in the first match of the day, managing a massive 25 kills on 41 attempts, helping to keep Cumberland undefeated in Indiana.

The second match of the day and third match of the weekend was a barn burner against Judson University, going all the way to five sets.

Judson scored the first point of the match but Cumberland quickly rallied to make it a 6-2 game in the blink of an eye. Running out that early lead in the first set was pivotal in ultimately winning it, as they were able to keep the Eagles at bay after every run that they would make. After Infante's big first game it was Jacob Whyte who lit the board up in this one, scoring several kills for CU.

Like the entire first match seemed to play out, the second set was a back and forth one getting all the way down to 18-18, though it was the Eagles who pulled out the win in the second set.

Cumberland bounced back in the third set, battling to a 12-12 set score before they began to pull away from the Eagles. Five different Phoenix had kills in the set, totaling 16 in the offense heavy frame, taking a 2-1 lead from Judson.

Making the five set match what it was, Judson took the fourth set 25-23, setting up for a huge final frame.

Vying for position, Cumberland went down early but fought back to take the lead, thanks in part to two massive kills from senior Kaden Kuehler, going up 7-5. The Phoenix were in the driver's seat all the way to 12-10, but the Eagles clawed their way back once again to take a 13-12 lead, putting Cumberland on their heels.

With match point on the line Sam Mannebach set Jacob Whyte and he put his shot into the floor across the court, leveling it at 14-14. Joao Infante then managed a similar effort on the opposite side to give Cumberland a huge 15-14 lead. With the match on the line the Eagles setter put a good ball up for Mason Snodgrass to hit, but with the Phoenix block in his face he tried to go around them and landed his shot into the net, 16-14.

With the victory the Phoenix leave the Adidas Game-One Pilot Invitational with a perfect 3-0 record, as well as two All-Tournament team members. Jacob Whyte made the team with his near 14 kill average, along with ten total blocks in his two games. The standout performer of the weekend was Joao Infante though, earning tournament MVP.

Infante was massive in the win over Calumet where he smashed a massive 25 kills, while averaging over 18 kills a game, along with ten blocks in that same time.
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Players Mentioned

Kaden Kuehler

#7 Kaden Kuehler

MB/OPP
6' 5"
Senior
Sam Mannebach

#15 Sam Mannebach

S
6' 2"
Senior
Jacob Whyte

#2 Jacob Whyte

OPP/OH
6' 4"
Graduate Student
Joao Infante

#11 Joao Infante

OH
6' 5"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Kaden Kuehler

#7 Kaden Kuehler

6' 5"
Senior
MB/OPP
Sam Mannebach

#15 Sam Mannebach

6' 2"
Senior
S
Jacob Whyte

#2 Jacob Whyte

6' 4"
Graduate Student
OPP/OH
Joao Infante

#11 Joao Infante

6' 5"
Junior
OH