PIKEVILLE, Ky. -- The University of Pikeville volleyball team let a 14-7 lead slip away in the first set, giving Cumberlands the momentum to post a 3-0 shutout win over the Bears at home on Friday night.

The Mid-South Conference loss drops UPIKE to 10-6 overall and 1-2 in league play, while the Patriots improve to 11-4 overall and 3-1 in the MSC.

Neither team hit extremely well, but the Bears took themselves out of the match with their own mistakes. They posted an 11-6 lead in service errors and a 20-14 lead in errors on the attack. Added on to that was the Patriots outhitting them .230 to .118 to come away with the win.

On a lackluster hitting night, Connor Cook stood out for UPIKE, finishing with a team-best eight kills at a .250 clip. Kaitlyn Welsh and Cassidy Tackett backed her up with seven kills each. Cumberlands got a huge night from Jennifer Philpott with 16 kills, 13 digs, two aces and a block.

UPIKE shot out to a 9-3 lead in the first set and looked to be on its way to an easy win at 13-6 when Cumberlands rattled off five straight points, led by two kills from Philpott. Still, the Bears lead as late as 26-25 but they couldn't put the Patriots away before falling 30-28 in the long frame.

Cumberlands grabbed big, early leads in the next two sets, going up 22-9 in the second and 21-12 in the third to put the match away.

UP NEXT

UPIKE is back in action at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday, taking on Berea and Midway in back-to-back matches in Midway, Ky.

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