Cumberland Drops Pair on Final Day of Phoenix Classic

LEBANON, Tenn.--Women's Volleyball wrapped up the Phoenix Classic with a pair of losses on Saturday at the Dallas Floyd Phoenix Arena. The Phoenix opened the day against No. 2 Eastern Oregon, falling in straight sets, before closing the tournament with a 3-0 loss to Fisk. Cumberland finishes the opening weekend of the 2026 season with a 2-2 record after picking up wins over Rio Grande and Columbia International on Friday.

Cumberland suffered its first loss of the season in the first game on Saturday as No. 2 Eastern Oregon swept the Phoenix 25-20, 25-12, 25-19.

The Mountaineers were efficient offensively throughout the match, finishing with 46 kills and just five attack errors on 101 swings for a .406 hitting percentage. Cumberland totaled 32 kills and hit .146 while recording five service aces and 42 digs.

Carola Schnidrig led the Phoenix with seven kills on 19 attacks, hitting .263 while adding six digs and three service aces. Liberty Shadix finished with six kills on 13 swings for a .385 hitting percentage, while Jacey Hubbell provided a spark off the bench with six kills on eight attacks without an error to hit .750.

Eastern Oregon opened the first set with an early advantage before Cumberland settled in and battled the second-ranked Mountaineers throughout the frame. The Phoenix put together their best offensive set of the match, recording 14 kills while hitting .273. Eastern Oregon answered with 17 kills and a .375 hitting percentage to pull away for a 25-20 win.

The Mountaineers took control of the match in the second set. Cumberland was held to five kills and committed seven attack errors, finishing the frame with a -.077 hitting percentage. Eastern Oregon countered with 14 kills on 25 attacks and hit .440 to take the set 25-12 and move ahead 2-0 in the match.

Cumberland responded with a better showing in the third, collecting 13 kills and three service aces. The Phoenix offense improved to a .189 hitting percentage, but Eastern Oregon continued its efficient afternoon with 15 kills and did not commit an attack error in 36 attempts. The Mountaineers closed out the sweep with a 25-19 victory.

Kaleigh Glass anchored the Cumberland defense with a match-high 19 digs. Carlee Rogers finished with 24 assists, five kills and two block assists, while Emma Chavers added seven digs and an ace.

Eastern Oregon's Keira Vaughn led all players with 12 kills, while Akylah Kaino added 11 kills on 19 attacks to hit .526. Mylie Mills recorded five kills on six attempts as the Mountaineers had four players hit .500 or better in the match.

Cumberland followed that match with a straight-set loss to Fisk, falling 25-21, 25-21, 25-14 at The Phoenix finishing the opening weekend 2-2.

Cumberland struggled to find consistency offensively, finishing with 29 kills and 16 attack errors to hit .125 for the match. Fisk posted 40 kills and hit .262 while also holding an 8-5 advantage in service aces.

Liberty Shadix led the Phoenix attack with eight kills on 23 swings, hitting .261 while also contributing a solo block and three block assists. Jacey Hubbell added seven kills on 17 attempts to hit .294, while Carlee Rogers finished with 14 assists, three kills, six digs and an ace. Kaleigh Glass led Cumberland defensively with 11 digs.

Cumberland grabbed the first two points of the opening set behind an AJ Bryant ace and a Fisk attack error, but the Bulldogs responded with a 9-1 run to take control, 9-3. The Phoenix chipped away at the deficit, pulling within two at 17-15 following a Hailey Jones kill and again at 17-16 on a Fisk attack error. Fisk answered by scoring six of the next seven points to push its lead to 23-17. Cumberland fought off three set points, including a Glass ace that cut the deficit to 24-21, before Reagan Jones finished the frame with a kill for the 25-21 Fisk win.

Fisk again created separation early in the second, building a 9-4 advantage. Cumberland worked its way back behind Hubbell and Shadix, with the Phoenix cutting the deficit to 14-12 midway through the set. The Bulldogs pushed the margin back to six at 22-16 before Cumberland made one final run. Hubbell recorded a kill, Sasha Dishman followed with an ace and Rogers later put away a kill to make it 23-21. Fisk stopped the rally with the final two points to take another 25-21 win and a 2-0 lead in the match.

The Bulldogs took control early in the third set. After Cumberland tied the score at 2-2, Fisk used a 13-2 stretch to build a 15-4 advantage. The Phoenix were unable to recover from the early deficit as Fisk closed out the match with a 25-14 victory.

Fisk's Shelby Chamblin led all players with 12 kills and added 10 digs and three aces. Laila Esters finished with 10 kills while hitting .421, and Kaia Barnett handed out 31 assists with nine digs.

Cumberland will be back in action next weekend as the Phoenix travel next weekend to Missouri for four more matches. The Phoenix will take on Central Methodist, Saint Ambrose, the host Columbia as well as Tabor.

Print Friendly Version