Bradford, Pa. -- Despite losing the first set, the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford Volleyball team was able to come away with a 3-1 victory in their 2021 home opener against Buffalo State.

The Panthers fell behind with a 25-19 loss in set one, but were able to win the second 25-21, battle to a 29-27 win in set three, and close the match with another tight 25-23 win in the fourth.

• Pitt-Bradford stayed within a few points of the Bengals early on in the first set, but a 6-2 run midway through it saw Buffalo state open up an insurmountable lead.
• The Panthers were able to put together a three-point rally using back-to-back blocks but saw it answered with another 4 point swing to see the Bengals take a 1 set lead.
• The second set saw the visitors jump ahead again, but an early four-point run with Jordan Sitler on the serve forced Buffalo State into a timeout. Sitler started the run by putting down a kill to get the serve back to the Panthers. Following an Emily Cleveland kill, Sitler notched consecutive service aces leading into the timeout. 
• Later in the action, the Panthers scored seven of nine points to turn a one-point lead into a six-point advantage. The run consisted of kills by Sitler, Olivia Reese, and Taylor King, as well as two Bengal service errors and an ace from Stephanie Carson. The visitors were able to cut the lead to three, but a late attack error gave the Panthers the set and tied the match at 1.
• The third set of the evening was its most hotly contested, as both teams put together leads, watched them disappear, and come back to battle to a 29-27 score. Pitt-Bradford came out firing, quickly building an 8-2 lead. A service error from Buffalo state tied the set at two and Sitler quickly served the Panthers to their lead. Emily Cleveland had two kills in the rally, while Kaitlyn Sexton recorded one kill and a solo block.
• The Bengals were able to battle back, eventually catching the Panthers at 15, and even opening up a 5 point advantage late in the set. Down 17-21, Taylor King picked up a kill to start a comeback that saw the Panthers tie the game at 22 and force a timeout. After the timeout, Buffalo State was able to break the rally but was unable to get the two-point advantage needed to win the set, as the Panthers responded to each Bengal point with one of their own. The game flipped at 25-25 when Stephanie Carson was able to pick up an Ace to put the Panthers on the advantage. The teams traded two more points, but after a Kaitlyn Sexton kill saw the Panthers go up 28-27, Cleveland put down one more kill to give the Panthers a 2-1 lead.
• In the fourth set, the Panthers jumped ahead early as an Olivia Reese kill put the Panthers ahead 3-0. Buffalo State responded to the early deficit, slowly chipping away and even building a four-point lead at 9-13. Reese put down another kill to earn a side out for the Panthers and another Carson ace followed by back-to-back Cleveland kills resulted in the Panthers erasing the deficit and tying the set at 13.
• Buffalo State was able to build a late three-point lead at 19-22, but Pitt-Bradford closed on a 6-1 run to finish the contest. With the set tied at 23, the Panthers used kills by Sitler and Sexton to go up two and win the match.

Cleveland led the Panthers with 17 kills at a .196 hitting percentage. Olivia Reese also put in a double-digit performance, recording 11 kills. Jordan Sitler was all over the scoresheet for the Panthers. She had 6 kills on 15 swings, tallied 3 service aces, and was a part of 5 blocks on the night. Setter Tabitha Walker recorded another double-double, dishing out 34 assists and collecting 14 digs. She also had 3 kills and was a part of two blocks.

The win moves the Panthers record to 2-3 on the season and extends their home winning streak to 10 matches. Over the weekend they will travel to Allentown, Pa. to play in the Buttermaker Classic, hosted by Muhlenberg. The Panthers will play Penn State-Abington and Neumann on Friday evening and follow that up with matches against Gallaudet and Cedar Crest on Saturday.