WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. – Life University (13-2, 1-0 MSC) opened up the Mid-South Conference schedule with a 3-0 sweep of Cumberlands (5-5, 0-2 MSC) on Friday.
 
"Tonight's performance was a great win for us to start the conference season," Head Coach Steve Wilcosky said. "We executed probably the best that we have in my three years here tonight. It was great to see Chelsea Hill get on the ball with 13 kills, and it was probably the best performance of her career so far. We served fantastic, got them out of system and got them completely away from their game. I think that can be attributed to our hard work and effort tonight. We didn't let off the gas and stayed on it. We were down 22-20 in the second set, one of the drills we do in practice helped us be ready to come back in that situation. That's is what I told them, to trust your training."
 
Three Running Eagles posted double-digit kills in the win. Junior Chelsea Hill paced the squad with 13 kills, as well as two assists. Junior Zykeria Allen logged 11 kills with three digs, two blocks and an ace. Junior Liz Mann contributed 10 kills, nine digs and an ace. Junior Miriam Goodfriend was particularly outstanding with 37 assists, four digs and a block.
 
The match began with both teams trading point very early. However, Life U quickly pulled away thanks to a 7-0 run, to give them a 10-4 lead early. Thanks to more point runs, the Running Eagles were able to keep the lead at a sizable distance for most of the set. The Patriots attempted to make a comeback late, but came up short as Life U took the set 25-19.
 
The Running Eagles continued their momentum into the start of the second set. They opened on a 6-3 run to start. UC kept battling and managed to tie the frame at 19-19. A 3-0 run put the Patriots 22-20 lead. Life U bounced back quickly with a 5-0 run to close out the frame 25-22.
 
The third set was tightly contested from the start, with both teams trading point runs. The Running Eagles finally began to pull away at 19-16, and eventually took the set 25-19.
 
"Tomorrow we face Union College," Wilcosky said. "They play a completely different style and are a very scrappy team. I'm looking forward to see if we can put to wins together this weekend."
 
Life U is back in action tomorrow as they travel to Barbourville, Ky. to face off against Union College.