BRADFORD, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's volleyball team pulled off a solid three-set victory over Medaille in the First Round of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Tournament at the KOA Arena Wednesday.
"We did what we wanted to tonight, which was to make a statement early," Head Coach Tom Roof said. "We played really well. Our blocking gave us a big presence at the net. I thought all night we played well defensively. Then we persevered in the second and third sets, which I think we were prepared for after our tough schedule earlier this season. That shows the character we have on this team."
With the victory over No. 6 Medaille, No. 3 Pitt-Bradford advances to the AMCC semifinals to face No. 2 Mount Aloysius Saturday at 4:30 p.m. Both conference semifinal matches and Sunday's championship match will be held at No. 1 Penn State-Behrend.
The Panthers rolled in the opening set, clicking on both offense and defense.
Katie Treat knocked four kills on as many swings to lead the offensive attack.
"Katie came right out in that first set and was unstoppable," Roof continued. "She's the conference player of the week, and she showed exactly why she's that player of the week."
Laura Hildebrand dug nine Medaille attempts while Elizabeth Johnson assisted four blocks at the net and recorded a solo block as well.
Pitt-Bradford eventually stormed to a 25-9 win in set one.
But Medaille found its form in the second set, knocking 15 kills on 42 attempts.
However, Pitt-Bradford used 10 kills of its own to capitalize on six Medaille hitting errors and five service errors to pull off a 25-23 win.
The third set was much of the same, with the two teams trading control.
Pitt-Bradford eventually gained momentum as Alayna Seggi dropped in three-straight aces to force a Medaille timeout that set off the raucous KOA Arena crowd.
Ultimately, a Payton Orzech service ace gave Pitt-Bradford the 25-19 win and the three-set playoff victory.
Riley Anderson led the team with 13 kills on 39 attempts and Treat knocked eight kills on 16 attempts.
Hildebrand had 20 digs while Anderson had 13 for a double-double.
Orzech assisted 25 of the team's kills and had 10 digs for a double-double as well.
At the net, Johnson had five total assisted blocks to lead the team's blocking effort.
"Tonight's win gets us ready for Saturday, going up against a team we lost to earlier this season. We have a lot that we're playing for Saturday," Roof concluded.
This is the third-straight season the Panthers have advanced to the semifinals of the AMCC Tournament, as the past two seasons the team has finished in one of the top two spots and earned a First Round bye.
The winner of Saturday's semifinals match between Pitt-Bradford and Mount Aloysius will face the winner of No. 1 Penn State-Behrend vs. No. 4 La Roche in the AMCC Finals Sunday.
