BECKLEY, W. Va. - In her first game as head coach of UPIKE volleyball, Coach Mary Haynes led her team to a 3-0 road victory at WVU-Tech Tuesday night.  

Set 1: UPIKE 25, WVU-Tech 23 

UPIKE jumped out to an early 9-3 lead, then the Golden Bears roared back after going on a 9-2 run. The teams traded points until a pair of attacking errors by Tech and a serving ace by Lillian Carpenter gave UPIKE a 21-17 lead. Shortly after, Tech tied the set at 23-23 but UPIKE took the set after a Tech attacking error and a kill by Cassidy Rivas to give the Bears a 1-0 match lead.  

Set 2: UPIKE 25, WVU-Tech 21 

Leading 8-7 early in the second, UPIKE pulled away after a kill by Olivia Chapman, two kills by Lanie Hawley, and a pair of Tech errors to go up 12-7. The Golden Bears mounted a comeback late in the set to get within a point at 22-21, but the Bears slammed the door on their comeback bid. UPIKE wrapped up the second set on a 4-0 run after kills by Olivia Chapman and Lanie Hawley and some errors by the Golden Bears.  

Set 3: UPIKE 25, WVU-Tech 13 

UPIKE held a steady three-point lead until they pulled away midway through the third set. After gaining a 14-11 lead, UPIKE dominated Tech and outscored them 10-2 to close out the set and the match. Tylie Barton connected with Olivia Chapman for the final kill.  

Lanie Hawley led UPIKE with 13 kills, followed by Cassidy Rivas with nine and Olivia Chapman with eight. Tylie Barton led UPIKE in assists (31) and serving aces (2). Ashtyn Filkins led the Bears defense with 14 digs.  
"We did a fantastic job executing our game plan against a good team. We competed hard and I'm really proud of them," said Coach Haynes after the game.

UPIKE improves to 1-0 on the year following the victory. Next up for Coach Mary Haynes' squad are two matches Friday against Fisk University and UT-Southern in Henderson, Tenn.  

#BearDown