(CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky.) – The Thomas More University men's volleyball team lost to the Cumberland University (Tenn.) Phoenix Saturday afternoon in Mid-South Conference action, 3-1 (25-20, 17-25, 25-23, 25-15). The Saints are now 6-2 overall and 1-1 in the MSC.
- The Phoenix grabbed a 13-7 lead in the first set.
- A quick 3-0 flurry for the Saints made it 13-10, with a kill coming from Mason Collver (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville).
- Cumberland would stretch their lead back out to 21-15.
- Another 3-0 Saints rally made it 21-18, but that was all the momentum they could muster in their set one loss.
- Thomas More dominated set two, taking an 18-8 lead.
- Dominic Rossi (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler) had five kills and a solo block to this point in the set.
- The Phoenix would fight back and cut the lead all the way down to four, but the Saints hung tough and tied the match at 1-1.
- The third set was the closest of them all.
- It was all knotted up at 21-21.
- Collver had four kills at this point, while Ben Albers (Delhi, Ohio/Elder) had three.
- The Phoenix would use three Saint errors and a kill to sneak away with the set win.
- Cumberland dominated the final set, taking a 20-7 lead.
- A 6-0 Saints run based off Phoenix mistakes wasn't enough to overcome the deficit, as they dropped the set and the match.
- Rossi led the team with nine kills.
- Conner Young (Cincinnati, Ohio/Princeton) had 18 assists, while Eli Chambers (Eagle Rock, Calif./Eagle Rock/Santa Monica College) had 12.
- Jonathan Litzler (Edgewood, Ky./St. Henry) had 13 digs, his fourth match with double-digit digs this season.
- Caleb Lipscomb (Cincinnati, Ohio/Walnut Hills/St. Francis Brooklyn College) had 10 blocks (five solo, five assists), while the team had 14 block assists.
The Saints return to the court for another MSC match on Tuesday on the road at the University of Rio Grande at 7:00 p.m.
