MILLIGAN, Tenn. - UPIKE volleyball was defeated 3-0 by the Milligan Buffaloes Thursday night.  

Set 1: Milligan 25, UPIKE 18 

UPIKE jumped out to an early 4-1 lead after two kills by Cassidy Rivas and one from Lanie Hawley. Milligan responded with a 10-4 run to go up 11-8, then went on a 9-5 run to go ahead 20-13 lead. The Bears cut the Buffaloes' lead to five late but were unable to overcome the deficit and MU took set one.  

Set 2: Milligan 25, UPIKE 23 

The teams split the first 24 points of set two, then the Buffaloes went on a 6-1 run to go up 18-13. UPIKE came back with a 7-2 run to tie the set at 20-20. Shortly after, UPIKE tied the score at 23-23. The Buffaloes would, however, take the set after a UPIKE attacking error and a kill. Milligan led the match 2-0.  

Set 3: Milligan 25, UPIKE 17 

After UPIKE and Milligan split the first 20 points of set three, the Buffaloes went on a 5-1 run. Trailing 15-11, UPIKE went on a 5-2 run to cut the lead to one. The Buffaloes slammed the door on the Bears' comeback bid with an 8-1 run to put away the set and the match.  

Cassidy Rivas led the Bears with 11 kills and tied Alondra Ayende with nine digs. Lanie Hawley led the team in blocks (3.0), tied with Ayende for serving aces (1), and was second in kills (8). Tylie Barton had 32 assists.  

UPIKE dips to 15-10 (10-7 AAC) following Thursday night's loss to MU. Next up for the Bears is a trip to Bluefield, Va., for the second of two regular season meetings with the Bluefield Rams.  

#BearDown