PIKEVILLE, Ky. – The 2023 regular season came to an end on Tuesday night for the University of Pikeville volleyball team with a 3-0 loss to Bryan (Tenn.) College.
 
The Bears will take a 20-11 record into the AAC tournament this weekend. They finished 10-11 in the league. Bryan saw its season end at 20-9 overall, 17-4 in the conference.
 
The Bears jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the opening set. Senior Gabby Myers got UPike on the scoreboard with a kill. Senior Kiara Warrens had a service ace and after a Bryan reception error, the Bears had a two-point lead.
 
The Lions then went on a 6-0 run to take a 7-3 lead. Freshman Lanie Hawley recorded a kill to get the Bears within one at 7-6 before Bryan scored six more in a row to take control. Bryan won the set 25-16.
 
A Hawley kill got UPike started with the lead in the second set, but the Lions scored four straight to regain the lead. Freshman Kyra Looney tied the match at 6-6 thanks to a set by Cheyenne Martinez before Bryan scored five straight.
 
UPike got as close as three late, forcing a pair of errors by the Lions, but a kill by senior Sarah Moore finished it 25-21.
 
The third set started like a mere formality, with Bryan scoring the first three and opening up a 7-1 lead. But the Bears scored three straight points to stop the bleeding. It began, however, a series of three-point runs for each team until UPike scored four straight, ending with a kill by Looney, to make the score 13-11.
 
The Bears would get no closer. It got to two twice, at 20-18 and 22-20, before the Lions closed it out 25-21.
 
UPike finished with 32 kills, led by Hawley's nine. Martinez had 19 assists for the Bears.
 
On the defensive side of the net, the Bears had six solo blocks. Two of them were recorded by senior Oksana Vucetic. Warrens had 12 digs to lead the Bears.
 
Bryan was led by senior Abby Rector, who had 11 kills. Junior Abby Cross and senior Journee Wilson had 16 assists each. Junior Raegan Malugin had three service aces to lead the Lions and added two solo blocks on defense.
 
Junior Elliott Brock led the Lions with 17 digs.
 
Both teams will return to action this weekend in the AAC tournament, which will take place at the MeadowView Marriott in Kingsport, Tenn.