BOURBONNAIS, Ill.-- Cumberland volleyball made a statement on opening day of the 2025 season, picking up back-to-back wins at the Tigers Kickoff Classic. The Phoenix opened the year with a 3-1 victory over Ave Maria, hitting .297 as a team, before closing the night with a sweep of host Olivet Nazarene behind a .247 attack percentage. CU showcased balance across the board with efficient hitting, aggressive serving, and a steady defensive effort, starting the year 2-0.

Cumberland opened its season with a strong offensive performance, hitting .297 as a team with 58 kills on 128 total attacks. The Phoenix were steady in serve receive and aggressive from the service line, recording 13 aces against 11 errors. Defensively, Cumberland tallied 60 digs and posted 8.0 total team blocks, with six block solos and two block assists. The attack was balanced across the front line, and the team's efficiency improved as the match progressed, hitting .281 in the first set, .229 in the second, .333 in the third, and peaking at .351 in the fourth.


Ave Maria hit .109 for the match, credit to the defensive efforts by CU, finishing with 31 kills on 119 total attacks. The Gyrenes served up 11 aces but were hampered by six service errors and 18 attack errors. On the defensive side, Ave Maria registered 48 digs and two total blocks, both coming from block solos. Their best offensive frame came in the second set, where they hit .161 with nine kills to even the match, but they were limited to negative hitting in the third set (-.033) and couldn't sustain momentum in the fourth.

Lila Cade led the Phoenix attack with 17 kills while hitting .471, adding seven digs and one ace. Haley Mitchell followed with 13 kills at a .462 clip, and Hazel Konkel added nine kills on .615 hitting while tying for the team lead with four total blocks. Alei Roper also reached double-digit kills with 10. Freshman setter Carlee Rogers had a standout debut, dishing out 45 assists, serving six aces, and adding 11 digs. Libero Kaleigh Glass paced the defense with 17 digs, while Paulina Dziedzic and Konkel each posted three block solos.

Cumberland opened the season with a strong run, jumping out to a 5-0 lead on three kills and two attack errors by the Gyrenes. After a point from Ave Maria, Rogers tacked on three straight aces her first time serving in her college career to force AMU into a timeout down 9-1. Leading 11-2, Ave Maria cut the deficit to 13-7, but a 4-1 run by the Phoenix pushed them to a double-figure lead at 18-8. CU would finish the set off with a 25-14 win, hitting .281 with 15 kills in the frame.

Ave Maria bounced back to take the second set, taking advantage of some Cumberland miscues. CU had its lowest hitting percentage of the match at .229 with eight attack errors, while the Gyrenes hit .161 to pull out a 25-23 win.

The Phoenix responded with a dominant third set, hitting .333 while holding Ave Maria to -.033. Cumberland jumped out to a 5-0 lead before pushing that to 9-1, extending the lead to double figures before closing out a 25-15 win.

The fourth set was the tightest of the match, with both sides trading points to an 11-11 tie. Cumberland went on a 4-1 run to pull ahead 15-12, but Ave Maria answered to knot it at 15. Tied again at 17, the Phoenix scored back-to-back points, and after AMU cut it to 21-20, Cumberland closed with four of the final six points, including a Cade kill on match point, to win 25-22 while hitting .351 in the set.

The Phoenix capped opening day with a three set sweep over the host Olivet Nazarene, 25-19, 25-20, 25-21. 

Cumberland hit .247 as a team with 34 kills on 89 swings while holding Olivet to just a .068 mark with 29 kills and 22 errors. The Phoenix finished with 33 assists, six service aces, and 8.0 total blocks, compared to the Tigers' 29 assists, nine aces, and three blocks. CU also won the back-row battle, collecting 44 digs against Olivet's 41.

Offensively, Cade once again paced the attack with 10 kills on a .500 hitting percentage while adding eight digs and an ace. Konkel was a force in the middle with seven kills on .467 hitting and a block, while  Mitchell chipped in seven kills, five digs, and two blocks. Roper and Dziedzic provided balance at the net, with Roper contributing timely kills and Dziedzic leading the blocking effort with three solo blocks and two block assists.

Rogers directed the offense with 24 assists while also adding four digs and two total blocks. Defensively, Glass anchored the back row with 10 digs. 

Cumberland picked up where they left off in the second match coming out and hitting .310 in a first set win with 14 kills. The Phoenix jumped out to an early lead 5-2 taking advantage of some early errors by the Tigers. Olivet Nazarene answered with three straight points to tie it early where it stayed tied all the way to 12-12. From this point, CU went on a spurt to get ahead before a big 4-0 run late put the set away winning 25-19. 

The Phoenix stayed hot in the second getting to a big lead fast. Cumberland posted five kills to go along with three Tiger attack errors in the first 13 points to get up 10-3. The Tiger's pulled within four at 12-8 and again at 17-13, but Cumberland held on to get the 25-20 set win and a 2-0 lead in the match. Cumberland posted 12 kills and a .229 hit percentage with two aces and two blocks. 

Cumberland posted eight kills in the final set, but were aided by a negative hit percentage after Olivet Nazarene notched 11 attack errors in the third set. Cumberland again stormed out front pulling an early 9-3 advantage. Olivet rallied to tie the match at 12-12 and then took the lead 13-12. However, the Phoenix rattled off five straight points to get the lead and pull them to the sweep. 

The Phoenix will be in action tomorrow as they take on RV Grace College and Mount Mercy beginning at 10:00 a.m. Grace also picked up two wins today while Mount Mercy split their two matches.