LEBANON, Tenn.--Cumberland opens at home with two wins over Bryan and Fisk to move to 7-1 this season.  

The Phoenix offense was efficient, hitting .326 as a team with 39 kills to just 10 errors. Alei Roper paced the attack with nine kills on a .500 clip, while Hazel Konkel tallied eight kills without an error (.471). Hailey Jones added eight kills on .462 hitting, and Lila Cade posted five kills and a team-high six aces to finish with 11 points.

Setter Jacey Hubbell directed the offense with 15 assists and chipped in three aces and nine digs. Kaleigh Glass anchored the defense with 10 digs, while Naomi Wiersma contributed five kills, four digs, and three block assists. Cumberland's serve proved dominant, finishing with 12 aces as a team. The Phoenix also out-dug Bryan 46-36 and posted 10 total blocks to control the match defensively.

The Phoenix opened their tri-match against the Bryan College Lions with great success, trailing for just one point in the entire first set. Like many volleyball matches it became a game of momentum where both sides would go on two, three, and four point runs of their own; this time though it was the Phoenix that took down the Lions.

Bryan clawed their way back into the match, making it 15-14, but a 7-1 run directly after helped to push Cumberland out to a 25-16 set victory. That momentum carried straight into the second set where the Phoenix sprinted out ahead of the Lions, 11-1. With a gap that large to start the set, Bryan never could make their way back into it as the home side took the second set 25-11.

The third set saw both teams land their largest number of kills in any set, however, the Phoenix edged the Lions 14-9 which helped them gain an important lead. Bryan did well to take advantage of five Phoenix errors and got a foot back in the game, but fell behind as a result making seven errors of their own which helped the Phoenix see out the final set 25-17.

Cumberland volleyball bounced back from a slow start to defeat Fisk University in four sets.

After dropping the opening set, the Phoenix locked in offensively, finishing with 48 kills on .209 hitting while holding Fisk to a .100 percentage. Sydney Andrews made a huge impact with 12 kills on a .417 clip, while Cade matched her with 12 kills of her own to go with 13 digs for a double-double. Alei Roper added 10 kills and three blocks, and Hailey Jones chipped in two kills and three block assists.

Setter Carlee Rogers kept the offense balanced with 20 assists and seven digs, while Jacey Hubbell handed out 15 assists and tallied two aces. Defensively, Glass
once again anchored the back row with 10 digs, and Cade's 13 digs led the team. Cumberland controlled the serve and pass game, finishing with eight aces to Fisk's 10 but committing fewer errors overall while racking up 60 digs as a team.

The Phoenix started the game with a number of errors, allowing the visitors to take an early advantage, forcing a Phoenix timeout at 8-20.The Phoenix made a good effort to get back into the set however, the Bulldogs cruised to a 9-25 win. 

In the second set the Bulldogs built on their first set momentum and went on a four point run to make the game 3-8. The Phoenix battled to stay in it and got their break when they went on a six point run of their own to take the lead 14-12. Both teams fought hard, taking the game right to the wire, but four kills from both Lila Cade and Alei Roper helped the Phoenix edge it by 25-22.

The third set started much like the second, with four errors from the Phoenix allowing the Bulldogs to take an early 4-8 lead. The Phoenix however, bounced back forcing the game to 8-8. From then on the Phoenix didn't look back, holding onto the lead with 10 more kills and forcing seven errors to take the third set 25-20. 

It was Fisk who took the early lead, storming out of the gates and leading the Phoenix by 2-7. Cumberland took a time out to refocus, and it paid dividends as some big plays brought the game back to 11-11. The Phoenix went on a six point streak to pile pressure on the Bulldogs, who clawed back a few points but it wasn't enough as CU went 2-0 on the day.

The Phoenix are on the road this weekend as they take part in the Big Easy Blast Off in New Orleans, LA., with their first matchup against Blue Mountain University at 9am on August 29th.