Altoona, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's volleyball team hit the road on Saturday for an AMCC match-up against Penn State-Altoona, falling to the Lions 3-1.

The Panthers got off to a slow start, dropping the opening set 25-11, but were able to come back and tie the match at 1 with a 25-17 victory in the second. They were unable to hold on to the momentum as they dropped the third set 25-17 and the 4ht 25-20.

• Despite scoring on the first rally of the match, the Panthers struggled to get started as the hosts quickly jumped out to an 8 point advantage. The Panthers were never able to grab a foothold in the set, as the Lions used a late 6 point run to push their lead to 13 points. 
• Pitt-Bradford was able to answer in the second set. After splitting the first 8 points of the set, the hosts opened up a 4 point advantage, only to see the Panthers erase it with a four-point swing with Tabitha Walker serving. Jordan Sitler put down a kill to get a side out to begin the rally. Olivia Reese put down a key to continue the run and Walker tallied a service ace after a Lion attacking error. The set remained close until back-to-back Panther blocks saw Pitt Bradford take control. Emily Cleveland recorded a kill to continue the run and a Lion attacking error forced the hosts into a time out. Olivia Reese had 3 more kills in the set as the Panthers closed on a 7-2 run to even the match at 1.
• The teams remained close again midway through the third set, but this time it was the Lions who were able to close strong. With the match tied at 12, the hosts scored three straight to jump ahead, and never looked back, as they slowly added to the lead until they won the set 25-17.
• The final set of the day was even closer, as the teams found themselves tied up at 19 heading into the final stretch. From there, the Lions closed strong, scoring six of the final seven points to end the match and pick up a 3-1 victory.

Olivia Reese led the way for the Panthers with 15 kills. She posted a .353 hitting percentage and added 8 digs, an assist, a service ace, and a block. Emily Cleveland wasn't far behind, tallying 14 kills. Jordan Sitler added 9 kills for the Panthers. Tabitha Walker once again led the Panthers with 41 assists, while also picking up 16 digs in the match. Kayla Maslowski led the defensive effort for the Panthers, collecting 24 digs.

The Panthers (15-5, 3-2 AMCC) will look to return to the win column as they will play their next match at home. On Wednesday, the Panthers will host Medaille in another important AMCC matchup. The game is scheduled to begin at 5:00 p.m. in KOA Arena.