Bradford, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford returned to their winning ways on Wednesday, as they won their quarterfinal matchup in the AMCC Championship tournament over LaRoche 3-1.

The Panthers easily took the first two sets 25-15 and 25-11, and after losing a tight 3rd set 24-26, closed strong with a 25-13 win in the fourth to end the match.

• The Panthers did not get off to a strong start, as the Redhawks looked for the upset early on, jumping out to a 3-5 lead. After a Tabitha Walker kill returned the serve to Pitt-Bradford, the Panthers scored 5 of six to turn the deficit into a four-point advantage. They used kills by Olivia Reese and Taylor King in the rally, as well as aces from Emily Cleveland and Kayla Maslowski. Kaitlyn Sexton added a solo block.
• The Panthers were able to Push their advantage further following a timeout and a service error. The Panthers got an immediate side out on a kill by Sexton and forced a second timeout after 5 straight, including back-to-back kills from Reese. LaRoche did cut the lead back to six, but the Panthers closed comfortably, scoring 7 of 9 to finish the set and take a 1-0 advantage.
• Pitt-Bradford not only maintained their momentum moving into the second set but built on it, scoring the first 14 points in a row. Stephanie Carson served for the long rally, tallying two service aces. Emma King had 3 kills in the long run, while Cleveland, Reese, Sexton, and Walker all added one each. Cleveland and Sexton also combined for a block.
• After building such a large advantage, the Panthers were able to coast to a victory in the set. They saw their opponents battle back to pull within 10 at 20-10 but closed strong scoring 5 of 6 to win the set 25-11.
• Set three saw the Panthers come out looking for a sweep, and quickly took a three-point advantage on 2 kills from Reese and one from Sexton. The Redhawks battled back, looking to extend their season, eventually building a three-point advantage of their own at 8-11. The Panthers quickly responded with consecutive blocks, a Talia Magno kill and an ace by Walker, to restore their own three-point lead by scoring 6 in a row. The Redhawks regrouped with a timeout and were able to erase the deficit. 
• The teams remained within two points of one another, but this time it was LaRoche that closed by scoring 4 of 5 to win the set and force the match into a fourth.
• The fourth and final set of the match began to look dangerous for the Panthers as the Redhawks pushed to force a fifth set, taking a 6-10 lead midway through the set. Pitt-Bradford was able to regain momentum, however, erasing the lead and tying the set at 13 on a Chloe Bellis ace.
• Following the service ace, the Redhawk resistance fell apart as the Panthers went on to score 12 straight to bring the match to a close. Emily Cleveland put away three kills in the rally while Walker added two. The match came to a close at 25-13 when Taylor King slammed down a LaRoche overpass on a Bellis serve.

Emily Cleveland once again led the way for the Panthers, finishing with 15 kills. She hit .268 in the match and added one assist, one ace, one block, and 8 digs. Olivia Reese also reached double figures with 11 kills. She added 7 digs. Tabitha Walker finished the match with a double-double, recording 21 assists and 14 digs. She also had 6 kills, an ace, and a block. Emma King also set a career-high with 5 kills on just 12 swings. Chloe Bellis set a new career-high with 12 assists. Defensively, Kayla Maslowski collected 22 blocks while Kaitlyn Sexton accounted for 4 total blocks to go along with her 7 kills. 

The win moves the Panthers to 18-7 on the season, while also advancing them into the AMCC Championship Tournament semifinal round. In the next round, they will face top-seeded Penn State-Behrend at 2:00 p.m. in Erie.