BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- UPIKE volleyball's undefeated run came to an abrupt end on Saturday when the team dropped a pair of three-set matches to Xavier (La.) (25-19, 25-12, 25-19) and Brescia (25-12, 27-25, 25-14).

The Bears (3-2) couldn't get anything rolling on offense in either match, as they hit just .022 against Xavier and .178 against Brescia.

Meanwhile, Xavier (2-1) held steady through the entire match, led by the trio of Adili Rikondja, Marine Angely, and Vi Prince-Spraggins who each had eight kills for the Gold Nuggets.

Cassie Jones and Emilee Little were the only two Bears to have a hit percentage above .050 through the match. Jones also added an ace and team-high tying three blocks.

Serving was one of few strong points in the Bears early match, which started just 12 hours after its last match concluded. Pikeville earned 11 service aces; four from Brittany Reels, three each from Noelani Simpson and Hunter Clewis, and the one from Jones.

Pikeville corrected course a little in the second match, but was still unable to stop the highpowered Brescia (4-5) attack.

Bearcat hitter Natalie Jones scored a match-high 22 kills on only 39 attacks to lead the way.

​​​​​​​UPIKE had a set point opportunity in the second set, up 25-24, but Brescia stole it out of the Bears' grasp with three straight points.

Simpson rebounded to triple her kill output from the first match with 12 against the Bearcats.

​​​​​​​Pikeville will travel back from Bowling Green after splitting the four-game invitational to prepare for its home opener on Thursday against Rio Grande at 7:00 p.m. in UPIKE Gym.