Virginia Beach, Va. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford volleyball team began their 2022 campaign on Friday evening as they took on tough competition at the Marlin Invitational, hosted by Virginia Wesleyan. The Panthers took on Mary Washington and Millsaps, losing both matches in straight sets.

Game 1:

The Panthers opened their season with a 25-13, 25-9, 25-16 loss to Mary Washington.

Pitt-Bradford fell behind early in set one as Mary Washington rolled off 5 straight points after an opening kill from Freshman Ruby Smith. The Panthers battled back, cutting the lead to 1 using a pair of service aces from Smith, but the Eagles were quickly able to rally and push their lead to 8. The closest the Panthers could come to their opponents was 6 points after back-to-back kills from Emma King and Tabitha Walker before the Eagles scored 8 of the final 9 points to close the set.

The Eagles' momentum continued to grow in the second set as the Panthers quickly fell behind 14-4. Pitt-Bradford was able to cut the lead to 7, but once again Mary Washington finished strong, outscoring the Panthers 10-1 to close the set to take a commanding 2 sets to 0 lead. 

In the third set, the Panthers were unable to gain any momentum as the Eagles took another early lead. The Panthers were able to cut the advantage to just 2 points after a Kaitlyn Sexton solo block, but another strong finish from Mary Washington saw the game put to rest.

Three players paced the Panther attack as Freshman Darby Deniston and Ruby Smith joined Tabitha Walker in recording 3 kills. Walker also tallied 6 assists and 4 digs. Kaitlyn Sexton finished with 2 kills and 2 solo blocks.

Game 2:

Pitt-Bradford continued to struggle with another difficult opponent in the nightcap as they fell to Millsaps 25-11, 25-15, and 25-18.

The Panthers stayed with the Majors early, taking their first lead of the match at 5-4 when Jenna Louser picked up a solo block. Their opponents immediately responded, going on a 10-1 run to open up a lead. After losing their advantage, the Panthers were unable to stem the tide, as the Majors closed set one on a 21-6 run.

Pitt-Bradford took the lead early in set two and stayed within 2 points of Millsaps through 18 points. With the Score 8-10, Millsaps quickly picked up 6 straight points to take another commanding lead. They were able to maintain their advantage for the remainder of the set.

The Panthers rotated their squad for set 3, but once again fell behind early as the majors went ahead 4-13. The Panthers were able to battle back in the middle of the set, as they used two kills from Chloe Bellis and three Jenna Louser service aces to trim the lead to 4. Pitt-Bradford matched a 3-point run from the Majors but were unable to get any closer to their opponents as Millsaps slowly closed out the match.

Chloe Bellis led the Panthers' attack, totaling 4 kills. She also added 4 assists and 4 digs. Jenna Louser picked up 4 points using 3 service aces and a solo block, while Ruby Smith added another 3 kills. 

The losses get the Panthers' campaign off to an 0-2 start. They will have an opportunity to get into the win column right away, as they will play two more games in Virginia Beach tomorrow. They will take on the hosts, Virginia Wesleyan at 10:00 am before closing the tournament against Greensboro at 2:00 p.m.