Pulaski, TN – UPIKE volleyball fell in three sets to Tennessee Southern Friday evening by scores of 25-21, 25-19, and 25-16.
Hunter Clewis led the Bears offensive attack with 10 kills.
The loss drops the Bears to 1-17 while the Firehawks improve to 16-7.
Yeryvel Catala finished with five kills while
Cheyenne Martinez racked up four. Martinez also recorded a season-high 11 digs in the contest.
Leigh Johnson had an impressive 19 assists to lead the Bears. Clewis dropped in a pair of aces, both
Mikela Cook and Martinez notched an ace as well.
The first set saw UT-Southern manage a quick kill followed by an attack error from the Bears which put them up 2-0 before committing an attack error that put UPIKE on the board. Clewis knocked down back to back kills shortly after, pacing the Bears within two. Later, the Firehawks managed a 5-0 run and began to seemingly pull away before the Bears led a 5-2 run of their own to put them back in the set. Trailing 20-13, the Bears mustered a solid run which put them down three (22-19), but UT-Southern would have the final say winning 25-21.
Yeryvel Catala kicked off set two with a kill and set the tone for the Bears who managed to play within three points of the lead up until a Firehawk run set them back 14-10. Despite a 3-0 run that made it 18-15, UT-Southern would pull away once more taking the set 25-19.
UPIKE got hot to start the third set, going out on a 5-2 run which included two service errors, two attack errors and a bad set from the Firehawks. The momentum shifted though as UT-Southern scored three straight to tie the set 5-5. The Bears tied the game shortly after at 7-7 as the two teams were locked in a tug-of-war for the momentum advantage. The Firehawks went on a 5-1 run that would make it 14-10 before extending their lead to as much as seven later in the match. UT-Southern would own the last half of the set and go on to win 25-16.
The Bears take the court again tomorrow, Saturday, October 9
th as they head to Marietta, GA for a 1PM gametime against Life University.