BOWLING GREEN, Ky. ---- The Life University women's volleyball team advanced to the Mid-South Conference Tournament Semifinals with a 3-2 win over the University of the Cumberlands Thursday night.
NOTES
• Life U improved to 28-9 on the year as Cumberlands finished the year 9-14.
STANDOUT PERFORMERS
•
Mary Zimmerman led the Running Eagles offensively with 18 kills. She hit .500 and totaled a solo block with a block assist.
•
Lena Pucnik finished with 15 kills and 17 digs as she added three service aces.
•
Caitlyn Neal added 12 kills as
Morgan Furness finished with 10 kills and six block assists.
•
Kennedy Neal also tallied a double-double with 27 assists and 10 digs with three service aces.
Brie Montgomery picked up 19 assists and 12 digs as
Marin Black led the team with 38 digs and four service aces.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Cumberlands led 13-9 early in set one after a quick 4-1 run. The Life U offense never got rolling in the first set as the Patriots earned the 25-19 set one victory.
• Cumberlands jumped out to an early 10-2 lead in set two, as the Patriots looked to pull off the upset in the bracket for the second time that day. Trailing 20-12 late in the second set, the Running Eagles used a 10-1 run that included four service aces to lead 22-21. The Patriots regained the lead 23-22, before Life U finished the second set on a 4-1 run as Pucnik provided the final service ace to win 26-24.
• Life U held an early 7-4 lead over Cumberlands in the third set, but the Patriots responded with a 4-0 run to lead by one, 8-7. The Running Eagles answered with a 6-1 run that was finished by three consecutive Zimmerman kills to lead 13-9. A late 6-1 run from Cumberlands swung the lead back in favor of the Patriots 17-16, but Life U swung a 6-1 run that included a pair of aces from K. Neal to lead 22-18. Cumberlands tied the set at 22 before an attack error and kills from C. Neal and Zimmerman ended the set 25-22.
• Both teams battled for the lead in the fourth set, however a kill from Furness gave Life U a 15-13 lead in the middle of the set. Cumberlands responded with a 4-0 run to retake the lead 17-15. Life U tied the set at 18, before the Patriots forced a fifth set with a 7-1 run to end the set 25-19.
• Cumberlands tied the set at four early in the fifth, as Life U used a 9-1 run to lead 13-5. Zimmerman recorded the final two kills as the Running Eagles won their seventh five-set match 15-7.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Life U led Cumberlands in nearly every statistical category as the Running Eagles finished with 63 kills to the 61 from the Patriots. Life U finished with a hitting percentage of .206 as Cumberlands finished .197.
• Life U led Cumberlands 8-5 in blocks. The Running Eagles also held a 12-4 advantage in service aces over the Patriots.
• Life U edged Cumberlands in assists 56-51, however the Patriots led the Running Eagles 116-106 in digs.
UP NEXT
• The women's volleyball team will continue play in the MSC Tournament as they face No. 3 seed Georgetown College in Bowling Green, Ky. at 3:30 PM EST.
