MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. -- The University of Pikeville volleyball team split its matches on the final day of the Milligan Mountain Madness on Saturday, beating Bluefield 3-1 in the opener before falling to host Milligan in three sets.

With the split, UPIKE moves to 4-1 on the season, while Bluefield drops to 3-1 and Milligan is a perfect 4-0.

When the Bears beat Bluefield (3-1), it made them 4-0 for the first time since at least 2003, according to records available.

A combination of Sydney Hall on the attack and a stellar blocking performance as a team lifted UPIKE over the Rams in the opener. Hall tallied a match-high 12 kills and the Bears sent back 21 blocks as a team, led by eight from Amari Eadie.

Bluefield had a brief 1-0 lead after taking the first set 28-26, but then the Bears turned it on, winning 25-20, 25-15 and 25-16.

Milligan, which improved to a perfect 4-0, had too much firepower, outhitting the Bears .183 to .074 led by Samantha Bruinis with a match-high 17 kills. Hall once again led the Bears on the attack, this time with 11 kills, but no one else was near double figures. Kaitlyn Welsh was next in line with five kills and five Bears finished with two kills each.

Savanna Zakman finished with a combined 59 assists and Rachel Murphy was the digs leader with a combined 26.   

BEAR FACTS

Sydney Hall was named to the All-Tournament Team after adding a combined 23 kills on Saturday…UPIKE had its best hitting set of the season in the third against Bluefield, tallying a .476 mark on a 12-of-21 showing with just two errors…Hall went 12 of 19 in the win over Bluefield, good for a .579 hitting mark.

UP NEXT

UPIKE hosts Shawnee State (Ohio) at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday at UPIKE Gym in its home and Mid-South Conference opener.

-UPIKE-