Aston, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford volleyball team continued its hot streak, picking up two more 3-set victories to clinch their second straight tournament title. The Panthers picked up wins against Neumann and Ursinus to go 3-0 in the tournament.

Game 1:

The Panthers faced the hosts to begin the day, playing for the second time in a week. The Panthers won the opening set 25-17, used a furious rally to win the second 26-24, and closed the match with a 25-20 win in set three.

• The first set began as a back and forth affair, as both teams were able to build small leads, only to see them erased and reversed in short order. That changed at 17-15 when Emily Cleveland put down a kill to send Eve Brink to the service line. After a Neumann attack error saw the Panthers go up 18-15, Brink rolled off four straight service aces to give the Panthers an insurmountable lead.
• Despite winning the first set, the Panthers fell behind early in the second. The Panthers erased the first deficit, using three straight kills from Emily Cleveland to take an 8-7 advantage. Neumann responded by scoring 7 straight points and then pushing that lead even further with three more after the Panthers were able to get a side out. Pitt-Bradford once again battled back, as three kills from Jordan Sitler and an attack error from Neumann saw the Knight's lead cut to just two. 
• The Knights were able to push the Panthers to the brink of a set defeat at 24-19, but Pitt-Bradford came back with a vengeance, winning 7 straight points to close out the set and win it 26-24. The rally contained. two kills from Cleveland, 1 from setter Tabitha Walker, and 3 Neumann errors, including a block from Cleveland and Kaitlyn Sexto, which tied the set at 24. Cleveland put down the final kill to end the set.
• The Panthers used the momentum from the second, to jump out to an early 10-3 lead on their hosts. The Panthers did slow down as Neumann was able to cut the lead to just two points. but the Panthers scored five of the final seven points of the set to close the match.
• Cleveland led the way for the Panthers with 17 kills on 36 swings. Jordan Sitler had an efficient match at middle hitter, recording 10 kills on 20 attacks without committing an error.
• Tabitha Walker logged 23 assists in the match. She also had 2 kills, 4 digs, and half a block.
• Stephanie Carson led the Defensive effort for the Panthers with 16 digs. Olivia Reese also reached double figures with 10 and Kaitlyn Sexton was a part of 4 Panther blocks.

Game 2:

The Panthers had a lay-off between their matches, and they used it to their advantage, winning the first set of the match 25-12, the second 25-15, and closing with a 25-21 win in the third.

• Pitt-Bradford quickly jumped on Ursinus in the first, quickly jumping out to a 10-2 lead. The Panther run included 4 kills and a half block for Cleveland. The Panthers did not stop with the 8 point advantage, as they continued to build their lead until it reached its largest at 20-6. From there, Pitt-Bradford was able to use side-outs to finish the set and take a 1-0 lead.
• The Panthers started the second set even better than the first, this time building a quick 11-2 lead. The Bears used a 5 point run to get the lead back to 4, however, the Panthers were able to quickly maintain and restore their nine-point edge.
• The final set of the match was much different than its predecessors, as the Bears were able to build a six-point lead. Midway through the set, Olivia Reese recorded 3 straight kills on the back of a 5 point run to get the deficit to just one point. The Panthers were able to take the lead at 19-18, and after trading serves, scored four of the final five points to finish the match.
• Olivia Reese led the way for the Panthers with 13 kills. She also had five digs and an assist. Emily Cleveland logged 11 kills, while Jordan Sitler put in a second double-digit kill performance. 
• Tabitha Walker had 29 assists in the match. Kayla Maslowski returned to the Panther lineup and was able to lead the team with 17 digs.

For her exploits over the entire weekend, Junior Setter Tabitha Walker was named to the All-Tournament team. Walker dished out 83 assists in three matches and added 4 kills, 3 service aces, 20 digs, and a block.

The Panthers are now 10-3 on the season, and are in the midst of a 9 game winning streak. Along with the match streak, the Panthers have also won 13 straight sets. They will return to KOA Arena for a non-conference match-up with Penn State-DuBois on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. They will then have a rematch of the 2019 AMCC semifinal, as they open their conference schedule with a match against Mount Aloysius in the first action of a tri-match between the Panthers, Mounties and Alfred Saxons.