Bradford, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's volleyball team picked up an important 3-1 victory over Penn State-Altoona on Saturday. The Panthers also recognized their four graduating players with a Senior Day celebration prior to the start of the game.
The Panthers struggled out of the gate, dropping the opening set 16-25. They roared back to win set two 25-12 to tie the match and then won a pair of tight sets 27-25 and 26-24 to secure the win.
Pitt-Bradford took an early lead in set one as three straight Lion errors put them ahead 7-3. Penn State-Altoona battled back to tie the match at 8. They took the lead at 10-9 and then scored 7 of 9 points to go ahead by 6. Another 5-point rally closed out the set to put the visitors up one set.
The Panthers jumped ahead in set two, as two Olivia Reese solo blocks put them up 5-2. Taylor King recorded back-to-back kills to extend the lead to 8-4, but the Lions were able to rally and tie the set at 8. A service error returned the serve to the Panthers and Kaitlyn Sexton recorded consecutive kills to put momentum back with the Panthers. The teams split three side-outs before Pitt-Bradford closed on a 10-1 run. Ruby Smith started the rally with a pair of kills. After a side out, Jenna Louser returned the serve with a kill, and then the Panthers scored 8 straight with Stephanie Carson at the service line to finish the set. Pitt-Bradford forced 7 errors in the stretch, blocking three attacks while Reese added a kill.
The visitors were able to take a 2-0 lead to start set three, but the Panthers scored 5 straight with Carson serving to take the lead. They maintained their advantage for the majority of the set until the Lions were able to tie things up at 12. Penn State-Altoona was able to take the lead at 15-16 and forced the Panthers into two timeouts as they took a 16-21 lead. The Panthers answered with 5 straight to tie the set once again. Reese put down a kill and then picked up an ace to start the rally. The Panthers used a triple block for the next point and kills from Smith and Sexton tied things up. Both teams traded clutch side-outs down the stretch, but the Panthers were able to score three in a row to win the set.
The final set was another tight affair, as the teams sent the final score over the required 25 points. Pitt-Bradford slowly built a 5-point advantage after a Louser kill at 14-9, but the visitors battled back once more, chipping away at the lead before tying the set at 18. They used an ace and two straight kills to take a lead at 20-22. Smith stepped up and recorded three straight kills to erase the lead and put the Panthers ahead 24-23. The Lions were able to prolong the match with a kill but a fourth late kill from Smith put the Panthers on match point. With Carson serving again, the Panthers forced the Lions into an error to end the match.
Ruby Smith led the Panthers with 15 kills. She committed only 1 error and had a .483 hitting percentage in the match. Olivia Reese also reached double figures with 11 kills and added 10 digs and 4 total blocks. Tabitha Walker tallied 42 assists and had 11 digs. 5 Panthers finished with double-digit digs, led by Kayla Maslowski's 26. Chloe Bellis added 16 and Stephanie Carson had 14 in the match.
The win moves the Panthers to 9-14 on the season and 3-2 in AMCC play. They are currently in a 5-way tie for 2nd place. They will have another important match on Wednesday, as they will travel to Penn State-Behrend for another AMCC matchup. The game is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m.
