Virginia Beach, Va. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford volleyball team was able to battle back from a disappointing opening set but saw their second comeback attempt in the 4th come up short as they lost to Virginia Wesleyan 3-1.

The Panthers struggled out of the gate, as the hosts quickly jumped out to a 12-1 lead. The Panthers were unable to slow the momentum throughout the set, as they lost the first 25-7.

Pitt-Bradford battled back in set 2, behind a strong performance from Olivia Reese. After starting off the set down 0-2, Reese rolled off a stretch of 7 kills that put the Panthers ahead 9-4. Following a side out, The Panthers pushed their lead into double digits as they scored 5 straight with Eve Brink at the service line.

A Kaitlyn Sexton kill pushed the Panther lead to its high water mark at 13 with a 20-7 score. From that point, the Panthers withstood a Marlin comeback attempt, closing the set by winning 3 of 4 points.

Any momentum the Panthers had after set two, was lost early in set three as Virginia Wesleyan scored 7 straight to start the next set. Pitt-Bradford was able to cut the lead to four after kills by Reese and Ruby Smith and a block by Tabitha Walker and Jenna Louser, but the Marlins responded and quickly pushed their lead back to 7. They closed the set with three straight points to take a 2-1 lead.

The fourth set of the match was a back-and-forth affair that saw both teams share the lead. Down 13-15 in the set, the Panthers scored 4 straight on kills from SExton and Smith and a double block by Reese and Smith. Unfortunately, the Panthers were unable to keep the momentum as Virginia Wesleyan scored 7 of 8 points to go ahead 23-19. Pitt-Bradford was able to battle back to tie the set at 23, but the Marlins were able to close the game with two straight and end the match.

Olivia Reese led the way for the Panthers with 15 kills. She hit .375 for the match. Tabitha Walker returned to form with 26 assists while adding 13 digs and a service ace. Kayla MAslowski led the defensive effort with 14 digs.

The Panthers fall to 0-3 on the season and will be back in action later this afternoon when they close their trip to Virginia Beach with a match against Greensboro.