Volleyball drops homecoming match to Cumberland

PIKEVILLE – UPIKE volleyball wasn’t able to find a way to get its first conference win on homecoming Saturday, dropping its eleventh-straight conference match to Cumberland, 3-1 (25-23, 24-26, 25-20, 25-20).

The Cumberland offense was firing on all cylinders Saturday, with the trio of Masa Nalovic, Mikayla Wickham, and Abby Akins all getting double-digit kills in the match. Wickham and Akins were also forces on the defensive side, with three and two blocks respectively.

Almost all UPIKE’s offense came from Noelani Simpson who had 20 kills, her third-most this season. Cassie Jones added eight and Amanda Gooding had five kills.

As is becoming a harrowing trend for UPIKE, the Bears were able to hang around with the Phoenix, cutting their lead as slim as 24-23, but were unable to complete the comeback in the first set. UPIKE returned the favor in a similar fashion in the second set with a 26-24 extra-point victory.

The third and fourth sets were nearly identical as Cumberland held a three to five-point lead for nearly the entire set, eventually finishing off the Bears in four sets.

UP NEXT

UPIKE will travel just across the Ohio River on Tuesday when it takes on Shawnee State. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m.

(Source: UPIKE Sports Information Office)