Greensburg, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford defeated Pitt-Greensburg 3-1 in the first game of a tri-match on Saturday.
The Panthers rallied late to win the first two sets 25-15 and 25-17 but were unable to close out the match in the third, as they fell 20-25. They were able to come right back in the fourth and secure the victory with a 25-18 set win.
Pitt-Bradford jumped ahead early in set one, scoring four straight after an opening point for the Bobcats. They were unable to hold the lead for long, as the hosts battled back to tie the set at 7 and then scored two more to jump ahead. The Panthers were able to respond with a rally of their own, quickly retaking the lead with three straight and then following a side out, scored three more to take a 13-10 lead. The rally was punctuated with a Kaitlyn Sexton service ace. The Bobcats whittled the advantage to one, but the Panthers went on a long scoring run with Tabitha Walker at the service line, quickly pushing their lead to 9. Freshmen Ruby Smith and Jenna Louser each had a kill and a solo block in the rally. From that point, the Panthers were able to easily close out the set, finishing it off with a Sexton kill.
The Panthers got off to a slow start in set two, as the hosts took an immediate 3-0 lead. They were able to battle back quickly and using a four-point run took the lead and went up 3 after a Reese service ace. Pitt-Bradford went on to slowly extend their lead throughout the set, scoring more than two points in a row only once. Smith was the closer in the set, recording three straight kills for the Panthers to put them up 2-0.
Another slow start in the 3rd saw the Panthers go down 2-9 early, but they rallied once again, scoring 6 straight to cut the lead to one. Kayla Maslowski started the run with two aces, which were followed by three straight Bobcat hitting errors. The teams remained a few points apart for the majority of the set, but with the Panthers down 20-21, the Bobcats scored 4 straight to close the set and extend the match.
After dropping a set, the Panthers came out with fire, jumping out to a 6-1 lead on two errors and a pair of kills for Louser and Taylor King. Following a few side-outs, back-to-back kills from Sexton were followed by another Bobcat error and a Reese kill which extended the lead to eight at 11-3. Pitt-Greensburg rallied, scoring 11 of 15 points to cut the lead to just 1 point. A Bobcat service error and a pair of Reese kills slowed the comeback, and with a 3-point lead at 21-18, the Panthers rolled off four straight points to bring the match to an end.
Ruby Smith set a new career high with 14 kills. She hit .313 in the match and added two solo blocks. Olivia Reese also reached double-digits, finishing with 10 kills. She also added 12 digs. Tabitha Walker added 35 assists to her league-leading total and also contributed 5 kills and 12 digs. Kayla Maslowski led the defensive effort with 18 digs, while Stephanie Carson was the third Panther to collect 12 digs.
The Panthers move to 8-12 on the season with a 2-1 record in AMCC play. They will take on Maine-Fort Kent in game two of the tri-match at 1:00 p.m.
