The regular season champion was determined Saturday in the Point Park Student Center Gym, but after four sets, it was the Point Park volleyball team that ended up on the losing end.

The 3-1 loss to the Asbury University (Ky) Eagles meant that the Pioneers will be seeded second for the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC) Tournament, to be held at Point Park Nov. 14-15.

Point Park lost the match 24-26, 25-23, 25-20, 25-20 and fell to 24-14 on the season and 8-2 in the KIAC.

“We’ve always had problems after the first set to keep our level,” freshman defensive specialist Tabea Dalliard said. “They were doing well and we made stupid mistakes. They were playing hard and we couldn’t keep up.”

Asbury coach J.P. Rader knew that Point Park was 10-0 at home prior to this match and that the Eagles would need to play good volleyball to get the win.

“They’ve been playing so well at home, and they’re a very good team,” Rader said. “I knew this match was going to be really tough, but this gives a us a good idea of what we’re going to need to do in two weeks if we want to win [the KIAC Tournament].”

 Asbury controlled play for the majority of the match. Although Point Park erased an Eagles set point and wound up winning the first game, it often found itself behind.

The first set served as the high point of the match for Point Park and it won the opening two points of the second game, but was unable to build on it. From there, the Pioneers’ play started to drop a little, including mistimed jumps on kill attempts on several occasions.

Asbury’s defense was a factor as it was able to block and dig several of Point Park’s kill attempts, which resulted in a momentum shift that ended up determining the end result.

“When we went down in the first set it could’ve been a knockout because we let it go and we had the lead late,” Rader said. “The girls showed a lot of resolve and the defense played really well.”

Though Point Park was mentally prepared for the match, this did not translate onto the court after set one, according to Dalliard.

“We practiced really well this week and we just couldn’t execute what we practiced,” Dalliard said. “We were really looking forward to this game. I’ve never seen our team so excited.”

Asbury has now won the KIAC for two consecutive seasons and last season made the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) National Tournament.

The match served as senior day for Olivia Fisher, Roxanne Grundmeier and Kelsey Veydt who were honored for their accomplishments in their time with Point Park.

The Pioneers are 24-14 on the season, winning earlier Saturday when Glenville State University forfeited the match due to injuries.

Point Park played its last regular season match Tuesday at Shippensburg University and now will prepare for the  KIAC Tournament.