The Patriots were one set from winning the Keiser Invitational. They won the first, survived a 30-28 second, and then lost three straight to Southeastern to finish the weekend 3-1.

It stings more because of how the first two went. A 30-28 set is the kind of thing a team remembers winning. Losing the match anyway is the kind of thing a team remembers longer.

The fifth set was over early

Cumberlands trailed 6-0 before scoring. Southeastern opened with a kill, an attack error, an ace, another attack error, and back-to-back service errors from the Patriots, and by the first timeout the set was effectively decided.

The final was 15-7. It was not that close.

That start is the whole match in miniature: Cumberlands gave away points rather than being beaten for them.

The efficiency collapsed set by set

Hitting percentage by set, in order: .200, .196, .070, .156, .032.

The two sets they won were their two best offensively. The third set, where the match turned, was their second-worst. The fifth was the worst of the night by a wide margin.

Twenty-nine attack errors on 205 swings is the number to sit with. Southeastern made 42 errors on 235 attempts, so nobody was clean, but the Eagles had 16 more kills to offset theirs.

Cumberlands out-blocked them and still lost

Total blocks: Cumberlands 11, Southeastern 4. Martina Frangella alone had 5.0, all of them solo. That is a genuinely outstanding night at the net.

Cumberlands also hit better as a team, .137 to .132.

Two teams played five sets, one hit better and blocked nearly three times as well, and lost. The gap was volume. Southeastern took 30 more swings and converted 16 more kills, because they kept the ball alive longer. The Eagles dug 113 balls to Cumberlands’ 100, and Laura Bonomi had 38 of them by herself while also leading all hitters with 20 kills.

Jolly had the best individual line on the floor

Forty-five assists and 24 digs. Add 5 kills on .400 hitting and it was the most complete match anyone played on either side.

She also set almost the entire offense again. Forty-five of Cumberlands’ 54 assists were hers, the third straight match where she has run essentially everything, the night after crossing 2,000 for her career.

Bryant’s usage is becoming the story

Sixty-six attempts. That is not a typo.

Bryant swung 66 times and finished with 15 kills, 8 errors, and a .106 hitting percentage. She took 32% of the team’s total attacks in a five-set match while also handling 21 receptions.

Compare that to Elaina Fischer, who hit .345 on 29 swings, or Frangella at .211 on 19. The two most efficient attackers on the roster combined for fewer attempts than Bryant had by herself.

When a match goes five and the primary option is hitting .106, the ball has to go somewhere else. Against a block that had clearly keyed on her by the third set, it mostly did not.

Our take

Nobody should be down about a 3-1 weekend that included a sweep of a top-ten team. Southeastern finished 4-0 and was the best team at the tournament.

But this one was there. Up two sets, out-blocking them 11 to 4, hitting better as a team. The difference was a third set that got away, a fifth set that was gone by the first timeout, and an offense that leaned on one hitter having her worst night of the weekend.

The pieces are obvious enough: Jolly is playing at a level that can carry a season, the block is real, and Fischer and Frangella are efficient when they get swings. The question that followed this team all weekend followed it into the final, and it is a distribution question, not a talent one.

The numbers

  Cumberlands Southeastern
Sets 2 3
Hitting % .137 .132
Kills 57 73
Attack errors 29 42
Total attacks 205 235
Assists 54 73
Digs 100 113
Total blocks 11.0 4.0
Aces 2 4

Cumberlands leaders: Bryant 15 kills, 16 points. Zampedri 13 kills, 22 digs, 56 receptions. Fischer 12 kills, .345. Jolly 45 assists, 24 digs. Frangella 5.0 blocks.

What’s Next

The #10 Cumberlands Patriots return to action on Friday. They will host Bluefield University and Andrew College.