Pikeville, KY – The University of Pikeville Bears volleyball team dropped a pair of matches Saturday afternoon at Shelby Valley High School. Their first match was a 3-1 loss to West Virginia Tech before Midway University beat Pikeville 3-0. These losses drop the Bears to 0-6 on the season.

In the first match, Hunter Clewis led the way for the Bears with 17 kills while Yeryvel Catala had 13 kills of her own. Leigh Johnson led the team with 14 digs while Cheyenne Martinez racked up 40 assists.

In the evening tilt, Clewis had eight kills and 11 digs while Megan Frazier added seven kills. Martinez had 22 assists for UPIKE.

Match One: West Virginia Tech defeats Pikeville (25-20, 10-25, 25-20, 25-22)
West Virginia Tech grabbed an 11-7 advantage in set one, before a 3-0 UPIKE run forced a Golden Bear timeout and made it 11-10. Out of the timeout, the two teams battled to a 15-13 West Virginia Tech lead. The Golden Bears than went on a set defining 5-0 run to make it 20-13. UPIKE tried to battle back, getting to within a few points before West Virginia Tech ultimately took the set 25-20.

Set two was all UPIKE from the start, as they used five kills to fuel a 10-1 lead. The lead ballooned to 15-4 before the Golden Bears attempted to make a run. They cut the lead to 16-9 before UPIKE ran away with a 25-10 set win to tie it 1-1 in the match.

West Virginia Tech found themselves with a 20-15 lead in set three before the Bears cut it to three at 22-19. The flurry was sparked by a pair of Megan Frazier kills. Unfortunately for UPIKE, they dropped three of the next four points to lose 25-20 and found themselves in a must-win set four.

Four kills and an ace helped give UPIKE a 7-2 lead in set four. The lead grew to 13-7 and forced a Golden Bears timeout. Out of the timeout, West Virginia Tech took the lead with an 8-2 run to make it 16-15. The Bears would claw back with a 4-2 push of their own and retake the lead at 19-18. The Bears weren't able to hang on though, as the Golden Bears rallied to win the set 25-22 and take the match 3-1.

Match Two: Midway University defeats Pikeville (25-15, 25-21, 25-20)
The Eagles held a steady lead throughout the first set, never giving the Bears hope of a comeback. Midway came away with a 25-15 win to go up 1-0 in the match.

Set two was a battle throughout as the two teams were tied at 19-19. The Eagles inched ahead and grabbed the momentum after a kill and an ace made it 21-19 and forced a UPIKE timeout. This momentum helped push Midway to a 25-21 set two victory and a 2-0 match lead.

Much like set two, the third set was close throughout with neither team gaining a distinct advantage. It was 19-18 Midway before an ace and kill gave the Eagles some breathing room at 21-18. After a Pikeville timeout, Midway slammed the door on a 25-20 set victory and 3-0 match win.

What's Up Next
Pikeville finds themselves back in action when they travel to Brunswick, Georgia next weekend for a pair of doubleheaders taking place at Coastal Georgia on Friday, September 3^rd and Saturday, September 4^th. They take on Bryan College and Coastal Georgia on Friday and Florida College and Coastal Georgia on Saturday.