Bradford, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford volleyball team kicked off its home tri-match with a 3-1 victory over the Fredonia Blue Devils.
The Panthers got off to a strong start, taking set 1 25-11 after hitting .375 with 12 kills. They were unable to keep their hot start going into set two, as they committed 11 errors which led to a -.308 hitting percentage as the Blue Devils tied the match at 1 set apiece. Pitt-Bradford settled down after the poor 2nd set, winning the next two 25-20 and 25-22 to win the match.
The Panthers scored the first 4 points in the match as a pair of kills from Kaitlyn Sexton and a Tabitha Walker ace led to a 4-0 Panther lead. Fredonia battled back and got the lead to 1, but the Panthers put together a long rally that saw them score 8 of 9 points to open up an 8-point advantage. Up 20-11, a pair of Jenna Louser kills bookended a 5-point rally to give the Panthers the set.
Along with their hitting errors, the Panthers struggled to receive Fredonia serves early in set two as numerous errors and 3 aces led to the Blue Devils jumping out to a 12-2 lead. Midway through the set, the Panthers were able to whittle the advantage back to 4 points following a Sexton solo block but Fredonia was able to close on a 9-2 run to win the set.
The third set was a back-and-forth affair that included 10 ties and multiple lead changes. Neither team was able to get a lead larger than two points in the early going. A four-point rally from the Panthers turned a 2-point deficit into a 2-point lead and gave the Panthers the momentum they needed to win the set. After Fredonia tied the set at 17-17, the Panthers outscored their opponents 8-3 to take a 2-1 lead. Ruby Smith had back-to-back kills to start the rally and Olivia Reese finished it with three consecutive kills.
Needing one more set to secure the victory, the Panthers fell behind early in the 4th, as an attack error put them down 11-6. Pitt-Bradford battled back, scoring 8 of 9 points to take a 5-point lead. Sexton and Reese each had a pair of kills in the run. They split numerous sideouts before a 4-point run that included 3 Fredonia errors and a Sexton kill put the Panthers up 23-16. After a short rally from the Blue Devils, Tabitha Walker recorded a kill to put Pitt-Bradford on match-point and Darby Deniston finished the match with a final kill.
Olivia Reese led the way with 11 kills. Kaitlyn Sexton added 6 kills and 2 solo blocks, while Taylor King was very efficient for the Panthers, putting down 6 kills on 11 swings. Tabitha Walker directed the offense to the tune of 40 assists and also picked up 10 digs, 2 kills and 2 blocks. Stephanie Carson led the defensive effort with 14 digs, while Kayla Maslowski also reached double figures with 10.
The Panthers move to 4-10 with the victory. They will have a short break before taking on Wells later today in the final game of the tri-match.