Bradford, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford volleyball team picked up their first conference win of the season on Wednesday evening as they defeated the Hilbert Hawks 3-0.
The Panthers broke away late in set one to win 25-15, outlasted the Hawks in set two 25-18, and dominated in set three, closing the match with a 25-9 win.
The Panthers got off to a slow start as back-to-back attacking errors put them behind 1-3. They were able to quickly turn things around to erase the deficit and then slowly build a 6-point advantage after a block by DArby Deniston and Jenna Louser. The Hawks were able to score four in a row to force a timeout at 14-12, but following a Jenna Louser kill the Panthers scored 11 of 14 points to easily take the set. The run included a service ace from Stephanie Carson, Eve Brink, and Kayla Maslowski, as well as kills by Louser and Olivia Reese.
The second set saw the Panthers get off to a strong start as they quickly jumped out to a 5-1 lead. The Hawks were able to get the lead back to two points before three quick service aces and a Kaitlyn Sexton kill forced a Hilbert timeout at 13-6. The visitors responded to the timeout, rallying to tie the score at 14-14. The Panthers were able to regroup after losing their lead, outscoring the hawks 11-4 down the stretch to take a 2-0 lead in the match. Reese and Sexton had two kills a piece late in the set and Tabitha Walker finished it with a set attack.
The final set of the game was close through 10 points before Chloe Bellis went on a long serving run to break open the score. After another Walker kill got the serve to Bellis, Pitt-Bradford scored 9 points in a row. Bellis had 3 service aces in the rally while Sexton had a pair of kills. From that point, the Panthers easily saw out the set, using 6 late attack errors to close out the match.
Olivia Reese finished the game with 10 kills to lead the Panthers. She also added 1 assist, 2 service aces, 2 digs, and a half block. Kaitlyn Sexton was just behind her with 9 kills and 1.5 blocks. Tabitha Walker directed the Panther attack efficiently, picking up 30 assists on 36 Panther kills. She also added 2 kills on her own, 2 aces, and 1.5 blocks. Stephanie Carson was the only Panther to reach double-digit digs, as she collected 13 in the match.
The victory moves the Panthers to 7-12 on the season with a 1-1 record in AMCC play. They will be back on the road this weekend as they will travel to Greensburg to play in a tri-match. They will take on the hosts, Pitt-Greensburg in an AMCC matchup at 11:00 a.m., and follow that up with a non-conference tilt against Maine-Fort Kent at 1:00 p.m.
