Fredonia, N.Y. - The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford volleyball team hit the road on Tuesday, falling at Fredonia in four sets.
The Panthers started off with a 25-23 win in set one but were unable to keep up with Fredonia for the remaining as they ost three straight 25-19, 25-19, and 25-18.
- The opening set saw the two teams swap points through the first portion of the game until the Panthers were able to open up a 5 point lead at 15-10. Kaitlyn Sexton bookended three Fredonia errors with kills to form the rally.
- The Panthers pushed their lead to seven points with two kills from Emily Cleveland but saw their hosts battle back to tie the game at 21. Cleveland ended the rally with another kill and a set error and Walker kill put the Panthers on set point. Following a side out, a service error put the Panthers up one set.
- The Devils jumped out to an early lead in the second set, scoring the first five points. The Panthers chipped away at the deficit, getting it to two points, but a quick 4-point run saw Fredonia restore it to 6. Late in the set, the Panthers were able to score four straight with Eve Brink serving, but it was too late as the Devils were able to get a side out to end the set.
- Set three saw the Panthers battle to open up a 4-point advantage at 13-9. The hosts were able to erase the lead at 14-14, but the Panthers got back-to-back kills from Sexton and Cleveland to go up two. The Devils answered, scoring 8 straight points to build an insurmountable lead.
- Fredonia kept momentum as the match moved into its fourth set, opening up an early 9-3 lead. The Panthers were able to turn things around after a service error, scoring 8 of 9 to go up a point.
- The Devils were able to retake the lead shortly after that and maintained the close lead until they closed with 5 straight to end the match.
Emily Cleveland led the Panthers with 17 kills. She hit .261 in the match and also reached double-digit digs for the first item this year, finishing the match with 12. Tabitha Walker recorded her 9th double-double of the season, leading the team with 26 assists and 16 digs.
The Panthers fall to 17-6 on the season. They will play their final match of the regular season on Saturday when they travel to Alfred State. The game is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m.