Bradford, Pa. – The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's volleyball team looks to defend their 2018 AMCC Championship as they begin their postseason play tonight when they host the La Roche University Redhawks. With their 3-1 victory over Penn State-Altoona in the AMCC Game of the Week on Saturday, the Panthers clinched the #3 overall seed in the conference's post season tournament, the same position they began last season's championship run.
The Panthers are led in attack by juniors Emily Cleveland and Riley Anderson. Cleveland is third in the conference in kills per set with 3.42 and second in total kills with 335.Anderson has recorded double digit kills and digs in six of her last seven matches. Defensively, Laura Hildebrand is fifth in the AMCC with 4.51 digs per set, and the Panthers as a team lead the conference in total blocks, with 199.
Their opponents finished the season with a 5-5 record in conference play to earn the 6th and final spot in the Championship Tournament. The Redhawks are led by Mackenzie Jeric and Ingrid Spear who have totaled 171 and 167 kills this year. Spear leads the conference in total blocks with 86. Erin Connor leads them in digs per set with 4.16, the 7th best average in the conference.
The Panthers defeated the Redhawks in straight sets in their regular season matchup this year. Held during the first AMCC Quad Tournament at Mount Aloysius, The Panthers took the first set 25-20, dominated the second 25-8 and closed the match in the third 25-20. Cleveland recorded 12 kills in only 2 sets to lead the attack. 3 Panthers recorded double digit digs as Hildebrand finished with 14, Anderson with 11 and Alayna Seggi with 10.
The game is set to begin at 7:00 p.m. in the KOA Arena.
