Bowling Green, Ky. – Bears volleyball wrapped up the 2022 Vette City Classic on Saturday afternoon, dropping a pair of matches to McPherson and IU-Southeast. Junior Cheyenne Martinez capped an excellent series with All-Tournament honors.

Following the weekend matches, the Bears move forward with several points of improvement to build on. Despite struggling on the attack, several newcomers stepped up in key moments such as Alex Van Dyke who's 12 kills through four matches is second only to Oksana Vucetic with 13. Jada Slone, a freshman from Prestonsburg, finished the weekend averaging a team best 2.5 kills per set and totaled 10.

61 assists leads the team by a long shot and that stat belongs to right-side hitter Martinez. The New Mexico native totaled 10 plus assists in each match, recording a season high 18 against McPherson. Martinez also struck for a pair of service aces throughout the stretch.

Match 1 | UPIKE 0 McPherson 3

The Bulldogs won out in their season debut, rising up as one of the best teams in the tournament and finishing 4-0. UPIKE competed in stretches but the Bulldogs' scoring prowess proved superior. Vucetic led the Bears with five kills, with Van Dyke close behind at four. Martinez dropped in the lone ace of the match.

Match 2 | UPIKE 0 IU-Southeast 3

Right off the bat, the Grenadiers managed a 5-0 run by way of two aces, a kill, and a pair of UPIKE attacking errors. IU-Southeast pushed out to an 18-6 lead before Bears Head Coach Obed Quiles called a timeout to regroup. Vucetic, Martinez, and Slone recorded kills in the final stretch but the Bears couldn't complete the comeback.

UPIKE found life in the third set, tying IU-Southeast several times and competing point-for-point up until a Grenadiers run made it 13-8. Slone carried the scoring effort with ten kills while Kiara Warrens recorded three service aces.

The Bears make their 2022 home debut on Thursday, August 25^th against Rio Grande. Play between the Red Storm and Bears is slated to begin at 6 PM in the UPIKE Gym.