LEBANON, Tenn.--Cumberland volleyball fell to Campbellsville in straight sets Tuesday evening at Dallas Floyd Phoenix Arena, dropping the Mid-South Conference matchup 25-14, 25-17, 25-17.
Cumberland (17-16, 7-4 MSC) finished with 29 kills and 15 attack errors on 86 swings for a .163 hitting percentage. The Phoenix recorded 26 assists, 30 digs and three total blocks but were held without a service ace.
With the loss, the Phoenix locked up the three seed and will host the No. 6 seed in the Mid-South Conference Quarterfinals on Monday.
Carlee Rogers led Cumberland with nine kills on a .375 hitting percentage while adding 10 assists and five digs. Bianca Guceanu followed with eight kills and four digs, while Jacey Hubbell contributed four kills. Liberty Shadix posted three kills without an error on five attempts and added two block assists. Emma Chavers paced the Phoenix with 11 assists and collected six digs, while Kaleigh Glass led the defense with seven digs. Carola Schnidrig matched Shadix with two block assists.
Campbellsville (26-8, 9-2 MSC) hit .476 for the match, putting down 44 kills against just five errors on 82 attempts. The Tigers totaled 42 assists, 34 digs, eight service aces and two blocks.
Libby Erwin led the Tigers with 13 kills and seven digs, while Riley Thorne recorded 11 kills on a .588 hitting percentage. Brooke Hager and Elif Akcivi added six kills apiece. Kati Vest finished with a double-double of 30 assists and 11 digs to go with four kills and two aces. Celestina Retumban served three aces, while Olivia Hellman added two.
Cumberland opened the first set with a Guceanu kill and a combined block from Shadix and Schnidrig to take a 2-0 lead. Campbellsville answered and used four consecutive points to move ahead 6-3. Kills from Hailey Jones and Sydney Andrews brought the Phoenix within one, and Cumberland remained within 7-6 before the Tigers rattled off four straight points to create separation. Shadix and Guceanu later delivered consecutive kills to trim the deficit to 12-9, but Campbellsville continued to build its advantage. Leading 18-12, the Tigers scored four straight points and went on to take the opener 25-14 behind 18 kills and a .552 hitting percentage.
The Phoenix responded early in the second set, overcoming a 2-0 deficit with five unanswered points, including three Guceanu kills. After Campbellsville pulled even and briefly moved ahead, Rogers helped Cumberland regain control with four kills during a stretch that put the Phoenix in front 11-8. The Tigers tied the set at 11 before a service error gave Cumberland a 12-11 edge. Campbellsville then turned the set with six consecutive points, capped by back-to-back Vest aces, to take a 17-12 lead. Rogers ended the run with a kill, but Cumberland could not close the gap as the Tigers claimed the second set 25-17. The Phoenix recorded 13 kills in the frame but committed nine attack errors.
Retumban opened the third set with three consecutive aces as Campbellsville jumped out to an early lead. Hubbell supplied two kills to get Cumberland on the board, and a Shadix-Schnidrig block later brought the Phoenix within 8-5. The Tigers answered with three straight points and continued to stretch the margin, using a four-point run to take a 17-7 advantage. Trailing 20-9, Cumberland put together four unanswered points behind kills from Guceanu, Shadix and Rogers, along with a Campbellsville attack error. Rogers added two more kills down the stretch, but the Tigers closed out the match with a 25-17 victory.
The Phoenix will turn their attention to the final regular season match of the season on Friday as Cumberland will host Freed-Hardeman on Senior Night.
