Lebanon, Tenn. – Shawnee State volleyball fell in the first of their two road games for the weekend, getting swept by Cumberland (Tenn.) 3-0 (17-25, 21-25, 23-25).
Cumberland would lead the whole first set, taking an early lead and never trailing. The Phoenix would build out their lead to 14-9 Lyssette Serna kill, and would not lead by fewer than five points the rest of the set. Serna would eventually give Cumberland an 11-point lead at 24-13, and the Phoenix would coast to a 25-17 win in the first set from there.
The second set would be more even to start, with the teams trading points early. A Macie Rhoads (FR/Circleville, Ohio) attack error would give Cumberland the lead for good in the set at 8-7, and the Phoenix would score six straight points to go up 13-7 on SSU. An Emily Cooper (FR/Hamersville, Ohio) ball handling error would give Cumberland an 18-10 lead, their largest of the set. SSU would chip away at the lead, eventually cutting it to one point at 22-21, but the Phoenix would get the last three points of the set, with Rhoads hitting another attack error for the set point.
Shawnee State would hold the lead early in the third set, extending it out to 10-6 on a Cooper kill. However, Cumberland would score five straight points, with a Serna service ace giving the Phoenix an 11-10 lead. The two teams would play close from there, trading points Shawnee State would score three in a row to take a 23-20 lead. However, Cumberland would then hit back for five straight points, and Abby Akins' kill would be match point, giving the Phoenix a 25-23 third set win and 3-0 win in the match.
Macie Rhoads led Shawnee State with seven kills in the match. Emily Cooper led the Bears with 13 assists, and Madison Knipp (SR/Beaver, Ohio) had 12 digs to lead the defense.
Lyssette Serna had 13 kills to lead Cumberland, and Mikayla Wickham added 11 for the Phoenix. Sadie Edmonston had 19 assists to lead Cumberland, and added 10 digs to lead the defense for the Phoenix.
The loss drops Shawnee State to 8-8 on the season, and to 0-3 in the Mid-South Conference. Cumberland improves to 3-7, and to 1-2 in the league. SSU still holds a 10-8 advantage in the all-time series.
Shawnee State volleyball returns to action on Saturday, September 22 when they wrap up their weekend road trip at #4 Lindsey Wilson in Mid-South Conference action. First serve is set for 2:00pm Eastern/1:00pm Central.
