PIKEVILLE, Ky. – The University of Pikeville volleyball team showed their skill Saturday but came up short in a 3-1 defeat by the visiting Patriots of St. Catharine College.
 
The Bears are now 1-8 in the Mid-South Conference and 4-18 overall. St. Catharine's victory gets them back over .500 with a 4-3 Mid-South Conference record and a 21-4 record overall.
 
Game One didn't look promising at first for the Bears, as St. Catharine jumped out to an 8-3 lead early. The Bears were able to close the gap to 11-9, but just as it looked like UPike had a chance St Catharine scored eight unanswered points to put the victory out of reach. The Pats would go on to win the game 25-16.
 
Game Two was a breakout game for the Bears, who went on a 10-2 run after St. Catharine scored the opening point. A timeout by Patriots head coach Adam Stevenson did little to halt the Bears' momentum, as they never led by any less than six points for the remainder of the game.
 
The Bears were forced to call a timeout while on top 18-11 after the Patriots began to gain some momentum, but by then it was too late to stop UPike from scoring an impressive 25-16 victory.
 
With the adrenaline still high from the previous game, both teams came out swinging in Game Three. However, St. Catharine's focus was renewed following their defeat, and soon found themselves ahead 9-3 when UPike coach Anna Bevins called a timeout.
 
The Patriots were able to pick up where they left off after the timeout, and soon the Bears were calling for another timeout down 20-12. Although UPike were able to put together a 5-1 run this time they could not take the win, and St. Catharine was eventually victorious 25-18.
 
Faced with defeat, the Bears fought much harder in Game Four. After opening the game with six unanswered points, UPike was forced to call timeout when St. Catharine pulled to within one with the score at 11-10.
 
Even though St. Catharine took the lead immediately after play resumed, UPike did not give up, and soon re-tied the game at 17-17. When it looked like St Catharine would take control of the game, Bevins called for a timeout once more with her team trailing 21-18.
 
The Bears responded by closing the gap to 22-21, but St. Catharine scored the next three points to close out the game 25-21 and the match 3-1.
 
Sophomore Paige Thacker led Pikeville's offensive attack with 21 kills. Junior Brittany Hodge followed with 10, while junior Brooke Parrott was solid with 35 assists.
 
Pikeville had six solo blocks in the loss, with Thacker and sophomore Bailey Hamilton leading the way with two each. Senior Shelbi White led the way with 17 digs, while freshman Rebekah Potter followed with 10.
 
The Bears will be looking for a win Tuesday afternoon when the host Alice Lloyd College, followed by a 6:30 meeting with Bluefield State College. UPike owns 3-0 wins over both this season.
 
 
-UPIKE-