Pikeville, Ky. - The University of Pikeville Bears closed out a three-game home stand at the UPIKE Gym with a 3-0 match loss to the Cumberlands (Ky.) Patriots. 

Cumberlands jumped out to a 10-4 lead in the first set but the Bears roared back. UPIKE scored nine of the next twelve points to tie the score at 13-13. The Bears and Patriots traded points until the Patriots led 17-16, then Cumberlands went on a 6-0 run to go up 23-16. The next three points belonged to UPIKE, highlighted by two aces from Genesis Santiago Melendez. Cumberlands shut the door on the Bears comeback bid and took the set 25-18. 

The Bears came out roaring in the second set with great energy. UPIKE jumped out to a 6-4 lead capped off with a kill by Marianne Negron Cordero that sent the UPIKE faithful into a frenzy. Cumberlands responded with a 10-2 run to go up 14-8. Shortly after, the Bears took advantage of a few attacking errors to get the score at 15-12. UPIKE scored just two more points and dropped the second set 25-14. 

The Bears fell behind 12-5 in the third set, then scored two points of attacking errors to cut the lead to 12-7. Later on, the Bears found themselves trailing 17-8 but back-to-back kills by Cheyenne Martinez and Alex Van Dyke gave the Bears some momentum. Cumberlands' lead proved to be too much to overcome, however, and the Bears lost the set and the match. 

Freshman Jada Slone led the Bears with four kills, followed by Daniela Hernandez and Cheyenne Martinez with three each. Martinez also led UPIKE with 11 assists. Oksana Vucetic followed up a three-block performance last Saturday to lead the Bears with three more blocks tonight. Senior Mikela Cook led the Bears defense tonight with a career-high 20 digs. Kiara Warrens was second on the team in digs (10) and had a game-high three aces. Warrens has recorded three service aces four different times this season. 

Next up for UPIKE is a trip up the Bert T. Combs Mountain Parkway for an afternoon bout with the Georgetown Tigers on Saturday. 

#BearNation