MARIETTA, Ga. -- The University of Pikeville volleyball team opened its two-match, Mid-South Conference road trip with a 3-1 loss at Life on Friday night.

The Bears outhit the Running Eagles .133 to .032 in the third set to tally a 25-19 win, but the other three frames didn't go as well. Life took those by scores of 25-16, 25-16 and 25-19 to log the win.

For the match, the Running Eagles won the hitting battle at .137 to .064 as Liz Mann led them with 14 kills and Zykeria Allen chipped in with 10.

Noelani Simpson was phenomenal for UPIKE, hitting a career-high 22 kills at a .213 clip, but no one else had more than seven. Savanna Zakman finished with 24 assists, Brittany Reels had 18 digs and Amari Eadie had a pair of solo blocks, but it wasn't enough to bounce back from the early 2-0 deficit.

A poor serving performance didn't help UPIKE's cause as it hit nine errors with just three aces. Life took advantage with 14 aces and outblocked the Bears 16-4 to hold them off in the fourth set despite having a lower hitting percentage.

UPIKE trailed by a single point at 16-15 in the final set, but watched the Running Eagles go on a 5-0 run to make the difference despite briefly getting back within three late in the frame.

Deandra King kept the UPIKE attack off balance all night with five blocks, while Gaby Ferran was  standout for Life on serve with five aces while also picking up 17 digs. Miriam Goodfriend ended up with 25 assists for the match.

UP NEXT

UPIKE makes the quick turnaround for a 2 p.m. ET match at Cumberlands in Williamsburg on Saturday.

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