Pikeville, Ky. - The University of Pikeville volleyball team celebrated senior night tonight at the UPIKE Gym. Seniors Mikela Cook and Hannah Dempsey were honored before UPIKE's matchup with Bethel. The Bears put up a great fight but ultimately fell 3-1 to the Wildcats.
Bethel jumped out to an early 6-2 lead, but the Bears got back in it after a kill by Leigh Johnson and an ace by Genesis Santiago Melendez. The two teams traded points and the Wildcats led 9-6. UPIKE then went on an epic 6-0 run that featured two aces by Kiara Warrens. Bethel came back to tie it then the Bears went on a 8-2 run to go up 21-14. Bethel responded by scoring seven of the next nine points to cut the lead to two, then after a kill by Oksana Vucetic went on a 3-0 run to knot the score at 24-24. With the set tied, Cheyenne Martinez recorded a kill and a Bethel attacking error won the set for the Bears.
Kiara Warrens got the second set started with an ace that sent the UPIKE Gym into a frenzy. The teams traded runs up until the middle of the second with the Bears holding a narrow 14-12 lead. Bethel then rattled off nine of the next eleven points to go up 21-16. The Bears battled back but fell short and lost the set 25-21.
Similar to the first two sets, the teams traded runs and the score was neck-and-neck midway through the third set with the Bears trailing 12-11. The Bears then fell behind after Bethel went on a 8-1 run. UPIKE showed some fight, scoring four of the next five behind a Cheyenne Martinez kill and ace. Emily Short recorded an epic kill shortly after. Unfortunately for the Bears, it was not enough to overcome the deficit and the Wildcats took the set and a 2-1 match lead.
The fourth set started with an ace by Kiara Warrens, then the Wildcats went on a 12-2 run and had a commanding 12-3 lead. UPIKE battled back and after an Oksana Vucetic kill cut the score to 15-9. Unfortunately, the Bears could not overcome the early deficit they faced, losing the set and the match.
Kiara Warrens had quite a game tonight. The junior from Martin, Ky. recorded a career-high seven aces tonight and was second on the team with six digs. As a team, the Bears recorded 17 aces. Senior Mikela Cook had a team-high eight digs while Cheyenne Martinez led UPIKE with nine kills.
Tomorrow the Bears will face off against the Freed Hardeman Lions at noon at the UPIKE Gym. Tomorrow's match against the Lions is the final regular season game for the Bears.
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