(LEBANON, Tenn.) – The Thomas More University volleyball team dropped their final regular season match of the season Saturday afternoon at Cumberland University (Tenn.), 3-0 (25-19, 26-24, 27-25). The Saints put up a solid fight throughout the whole match, but the Phoenix were able to stay one step ahead.
Thomas More held a 19-18 lead in the first set, with five kills coming from
Ally Albrinck and three from both
Sydney Hilderbran and
Sawyer Lorentz to help give the Saints the lead. Unfortunately for Thomas More, the Phoenix would not allow another point and used a 7-0 run to win the set.
The Saints led 19-18 again in set two before Cumberland used a 4-0 flurry to take a 22-19 advantage. However, the Saints wouldn't go down without a fight, using a 5-1 push to take a 24-23 lead.
Jess Gearries and Lorentz both had a kill to fuel the rally. The Phoenix would use a quick 3-0 run to win the set though and go up 2-0 in the match.
The final set saw Thomas More go down 17-13, but a 9-3 stretch that was fueled by a pair of Hilderbran and Gearries kills gave the Saints a 22-20 lead. They wouldn't hang on though and dropped the set and the match 3-0.
- Hilderbran (11) and Albrinck (10) both led the team with double-digit kills.
- Asia Ferrando (22), Ruthie Neu (14), and Delaney Needham (10) all had double-digit digs. This is Ferrando's 13th match this season with 21 or more digs.
- Sam McClanahan had 34 assists, which puts her at 1,002 for the season. She becomes the 10th Saint in program history to have a 1,000-plus assist season.
The Saints end the regular season with a 17-11 record and a 10-4 record in the Mid-South Conference. They will begin the MSC Tournament next week, as their opponent is yet to be determined.
