The Pike Liberal Arts Patriots fell in straight sets to Lakeside on Tuesday night in Eufaula.

The Patriots kept each set close, but ultimately fell to the Chiefs 23-25, 18-25, 21-25.

The loss for the Patriots brings their overall record on the season to 7-7.

“The girls played really hard,” Lady Patriot head coach Lana Johnson said. “They just came up short tonight.”

Grace Rushing finished the match scoring on 15 of her 18 hits, while also having five kills. Senior Mary Ramage finished the match with 10 assists.

The Lady Patriots have just two more matches remaining in the regular season before beginning the postseason. The Patriots will travel to Cecil to take on Macon East on Thursday afternoon before closing out the regular season on the road in Montgomery against Success Unlimited. The junior varsity squads will play before the varsity both days beginning at 4 p.m.

“I want to see confidence in their hitting ability,” Johnson said. “Going into the playoffs, we have to stop being safe and we have to stop pushing the ball over the net. We need to hit.”

The opening round of the state playoffs are set to begin on October 22.