Bradford, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford volleyball team saw its season come to an end Wednesday night as the Panthers lost to #5-seeded Penn State-Altoona in a three-game sweep.

The Panthers struggled to find consistency, as they committed 28 hitting errors in the contest. They stayed close to the Lions in set one, but a late rally led them to fall behind 25-21. They lost set two 25-16 and were unable to hold onto a lead midway through set three, falling 25-20.

The Panthers dropped three of the first four points in set one but were able to battle back and take a lead on a Kaitlyn Sexton kill at 6-5. From that point, the teams traded rallies as they battled to the tune of 7 ties and 4 lead changes throughout the set. Leading 16-15, the Panthers saw their opponents take the lead for good on two errors and a kill. They were able to stay within two points through a Sexton kill, but 5 straight from the Lions put the visitors on set point. Pitt-Bradford was able to pull three back on kills from Ruby Smith and Sexton and a Penn State-Altoona hitting error, but after a timeout broke their momentum, committed one final error to end the set.

The Panthers got off to another slow start in set two, as the Lions used 7 Panther errors to jump ahead 10-5. From that point, the Panthers were unable to build any momentum, as the visitors were able to limit them to no more than two consecutive points. A Smith kill cut the advantage to four points at 20-16, but the Lions rolled off another 5 in a row to close the set and take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.

With their season on the line, the Panthers fell behind 1-3 early in set three but scored three in a row to take the lead. Olivia Reese had two kills and split a block with Sexton on three consecutive points to put the Panthers ahead 5-4. Following back-to-back slideouts, a pair of Lion errors, and another Sexton kill pushed the Panther advantage to 4. The Panthers were able to hold off the Lions for a few points before they tied the set at 11. Kills by Smith and Jenna Louser kept the PAtnhers ahead, but it did not last long as Penn State-Altoona scored 5 of 7 points to take the lead at 16-15. From that point the visitors slowly built their advantage, outscoring the Panthers 9-5 down the stretch to close out the game.

Senior Kaitlyn Sexton had a strong performance in her final collegiate game, recording 13 kills with a .426 hitting percentage. she also added 3 digs and 3 total blocks. Ruby Smith also reached double digits with 11 kills. Tabitha Walker tallied 29 assists in the match, and also added 10 digs. Kayla Maslowski led the Panthers with 14 digs, while Chloe Bellis also reached double figures at 13.

The Panthers finish their season 11-16 and bow out of the AMCC Tournament in the first round. The victors will advance to the semi-final round, where they will take on top-seeded Alfred State.