PIKEVILLE, Ky. – Life got a big performance from Sam Diebold in the opening match, then found a way to outlast the University of Pikeville in the second match with three of four sets going past regulation to register a pair of 3-1 wins on Saturday at UPIKE Gym.
The Running Eagles won 25-19, 25-16, 21-25, 25-18 in the opening match of the day, utilizing a .246 to .186 hitting advantage, before holding on for a 27-25, 26-24, 22-25, 27-25 win in the second.
Rachel Murphy did her best to keep the Bears (14-11, 1-7 MSC) in contention, finishing with a team-best 24 combined kills, including 15 in the second match. That was just one off her career high, while also adding 15 digs, three assists and an ace on the day. Amari Eadie backed her up on the attack with 17 combined kills while also sending back a match-best nine blocks.
Diebold and the Life (14-9, 5-7 MSC) offense was simply too strong in the opening match as she finished with 19 kills at a .293 clip. Add in Janaya Simmons chipping in with 14 kills and the Running Eagles posting a 10-3 advantage in aces and you can see how it logged the win.
The Bears led 15-10 midway through the first set, but the lefty Simmons went on serve for six straight points to give Life a 16-15 lead. UPIKE briefly tied things up on the next point, but were outscored 7-1 on the next eight as Life pulled away.
Life made quick work of the Bears in the second set, amassing a 10-point lead quickly and never looking back. UPIKE played good volleyball in the third set as it took a lead at 7-6 and never lost it with the help of a.400 hitting mark.
The fourth set was more like the second as Life built a 20-10 lead, and although UPIKE put together an 8-3 run to make things interesting, the Running Eagles closed it out with two straight points.
UPIKE's loss in the second match was harder to swallow as it outhit Life .281 to .255 and tied it with six aces each. It simply came down chances as the Running Eagles got to attack 10 more times, leading to 53 assists for Nohema Garcia-Torres to make up the difference.
Garcia-Torres' favorite target was Simmons who collected a match-high 22 kills, while Diebold chipped in with 17. And Life needed every one of them as the Bears just wouldn't go away.
UPIKE led for the majority of the first set, but the Running Eagles fought back to tie things up at 23 with a late 3-0 run. From there the lead changed hands twice before a kill by Chelsea Hill and set error from Savanna Zakman ended it.
Continuing a trend, the Bears went up 18-11 in the second set before the lead started to fall apart. Life outscored it 9-3 to get within one at 21-20, and then despite getting to a 24-22 set points, the Bears gave up four straight heart wrenching points to lose it.
In the only set to end in regulation, UPIKE found a way to win in the third despite trailing 15-13 at the midway mark. A 5-0 run gave it an 18-15 lead and it never relinquished it, using a kill from Sydney Hall to win 25-22.
Credit the Bears for making sure the fourth set had a wild finish as it didn't let down despite giving up a 21-20 lead with four straight Life points. Facing a three-point deficit at match point, UPIKE got the gift of three straight Life attack errors to even things up.
Life took a 25-24 lead on a service error by Zakman, then Murphy tallied a kill for the equalizer. But a block by Garcia-Torres and Chelsea Hill on the next point allowed Simmons to put the win away with a kill to make it 27-25.
UP NEXT
UPIKE takes its show on the road at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday at Shawnee State in Portsmouth, Ohio.
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