PIKEVILLE, Ky.— The Montreat volleyball team continued its 3-match road trip Friday night with an important Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) clash against the University of Pikeville Bears. While the Cavaliers battled early and often across three sets, late runs cost the visitors in each frame as the hosts swept the Cavs and dropped Montreat's record to 8-8 (5-8 AAC) on the year.
 
Katie Alexander got the away side started with a service ace, and Katie Dickey registered a kill to cap off a 5-1 Cavalier spurt at the beginning of the initial set. The Bears tried to respond early, but a Reese Davis ace and kills from Alex Marsh and Shalice Lynch maintained a 12-6 edge midway through the frame; however, miscues started to plague the visitors, and the hosts took advantage. Pikeville trimmed the gap to a single point on three separate occasions thanks in part to Montreat's 11 attacking errors and -.100 hitting percentage. Eventually, UPIKE notched the final six points of the first frame to claim a 25-22 victory.
 
Early kills from Destini Phifer and Dickey staked the Cavs out to a slim 4-3 margin, but another 6-0 run put Pikeville (15-7, 7-7 AAC) in the driver's seat during the second set. Another Phifer kill and Alexander ace whittled away at the deficit, but a .200 to -.071 hitting disparity proved too much to overcome. Behind an 8-1 stretch on their home floor to end the frame at 25-17, the Bears moved within one set of a sweep.
 
Karly Horn collected a trio of kills as the third set got underway, and Lexi Wible tacked on an ace to help the Cavaliers keep pace with UPIKE. Kamryn Wolf did the same midway through the frame, tallying five kills to trail by just a point, 15-14. Despite Montreat's best efforts, including the visitors' strongest attacking set of the night (12 kills, .188 hitting percentage), Pikeville also saved its best for last. A .379 attacking percentage powered by 14 kills on 29 attempts pushed the hosts across the finish line. The Bears won six of the final seven points in the match and captured the AAC sweep thanks to a 25-20 third-set triumph.
 
With service ace, service error and block totals nearly identical across the board, Pikeville's edge in kills (33-27) and hitting percentage (.215 to .011), along with 10 fewer attacking errors (26-16), swung the match in the hosts' favor. Dickey (8) and Wolf (7) led the Cavs in kills, while Alexander did the same with her 13 assists. Meanwhile, Wible's seven digs led all athletes.
 
The Montreat volleyball team is back in action tomorrow morning as it closes out its 3-match road trip with a contest against conference rival Milligan University. First serve is scheduled for 11 a.m. in Milligan, Tenn.