BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- Eighth-seeded Shawnee State (Ohio) came out red hot on its way to a 3-0 win over UPIKE in the first round of the Mid-South Conference Volleyball Championship on Thursday afternoon at South Warren High School.

The Bears from Portsmouth, Ohio took a 12-1 lead early in the first set and continued to hold UPIKE in single digits until Kaitlyn Welsh's kill made it 24-10. Christina Shelton put a ball down on the next point, giving SSU the early 1-0 lead overall.

UPIKE played much more evenly in the final two frames, keeping things close up until the final few points of each.

While it never led, UPIKE was within one in the second set at 17-16 before Shawnee State went on a 5-1 run to give itself some separation. With a 22-17 lead, SSU only allowed one more point to be scored by the Bears the rest of the way.

The third set was similar as UPIKE fell behind 11-3 before rallying back with a 6-1 run highlighted by two kills from Welsh and three SSU hitting errors. It remained a three-point match as late as 20-17, but SSU outscored the Bears 5-2 down the stretch to claim the shutout win.

Sydney Hall paced UPIKE with eight kills, followed by six each from Welsh and Cassidy Tackett. The Bears hit .118 as a team, compared to a .378 showing for SSU. Savanna Zakman dished out 22 assists, Rachel Murphy claimed 12 digs and Welsh added a trio of aces.

Shawnee State advances to Thursday night's quarterfinals where it will face top-seeded Lindsey Wilson at 9 p.m. ET.

-UPIKE-