Union Volleyball Falls to Pikeville on Senior Night

BARBOURVILLE, Ky. – Union Commonwealth University's women's volleyball team (10-18, 10-8 AAC) fell to Pikeville (18-11, 15-3 AAC) on Senior Night Friday at Robsion Arena, 3-1.

Eight seniors were recognized for their contributions to the program: Emily Shumaker, Lain Prather, Morgan Stacy, Sarah Charkosky, Bella Townsend, McKenna Pickett, Kaelyn Faul and Berkli Benefield.

Earlier this season, Pikeville edged Union in a close 3-2 match at the UPIKE Gym. This time, the Bears took the match in four sets by scores of 25-13, 11-25, 25-21, and 25-18.

Game Recap

Set 1: Pikeville 25, Union Commonwealth 13
Both teams kept it close early at 5-5 before Pikeville used a 6-1 run to pull ahead 11-6, forcing a Union timeout. The Bears extended their lead with a 9-2 run to make it 20-10. Union earned a few late points but dropped the opening set 25-13 to fall behind 1-0.

Top Performers: Shumaker and Benefield led Union with three kills each. Shumaker also added a block.

Set 2: Union Commonwealth 25, Pikeville 11
Down 1-0, the Bulldogs started fast with a 2-0 run. After the Bears tied it at 5-5, Union answered with a dominant 17-3 run, forcing Pikeville to burn both timeouts. The Bulldogs closed out the set 25-11 to tie the match 1-1.

Top Performers: Ginevra Girardo, Rylee Stookey, Benefield and Shumaker each had three kills. Benefield and Girardo added three blocks apiece.

Set 3: Pikeville 25, Union Commonwealth 21
Pikeville opened with a 5-2 run before Union rallied to take a 9-6 lead. The Bears responded with a 16-5 run to move ahead 22-14. Union battled back to within one at 22-21, but Pikeville held on for the 25-21 win to reclaim a 2-1 match lead.

Top Performers: Shumaker had four kills and a block, while Stookey also tallied four kills.

Set 4: Pikeville 25, Union Commonwealth 18
The final set stayed close early, tied at 11-11. Union took a brief lead at 15-14 before Pikeville surged ahead 18-16 and finished the match on a 7-1 run to win 25-18 and take the 3-1 victory.

Top Performers: Benefield posted three kills and a block. Girardo added one kill and two blocks.

By the Numbers

• Kills: Shumaker – 13
  

• Assists: Charkosky – 20
  

• Blocks: Girardo, Glass – 4
  

• Digs: Sydney Worde – 19
  

Sloan Coursey and Charkosky each recorded a double-double. Coursey finished with 10 digs and 16 assists, while Charkosky had 10 digs and 20 assists.

To see the Baymont Inn: Player of the Game, click here.

Up Next

Union will close out the regular season against Bluefield on Saturday, Nov. 8, at 11 a.m. inside Robsion Arena.