Bradford, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford volleyball team will begin its postseason run on Wednesday as they will host the #5-seeded Penn State-Altoona Lions in the first round of the AMCC Volleyball Tournament.
The Panthers finished the regular season at 11-15 overall and tied for 3rd with a 4-3 record in AMCC play, which put them in a three-way tie for 3rd. The Panthers picked up two wins in their season-ending tri-match on Saturday. They started the day with a clutch 3-set victory over LaRoche, which secured the home playoff game. Later on in the day, they also swept Keuka, bringing their record in KOA Arena to 9-1. This season, Olivia Reese has led the Panthers with 286 kills. She is currently 2nd in the AMCC. Freshmen Darby Deniston and Ruby Smith have recorded 153 and 139 kills respectively, while Kaitlyn Sexton also reached the century mark with 115. Tabitha Walker dictates the offense, dishing out an AMCC-leading 788 assists. She also surpassed the 2,000 assist milestone early last week. Kayla Maslowski leads the Panther defensive effort, collecting an AMCC-leading 397 digs. Senior Stephanie Carson has also been a major contributor for the Panthers, collecting 317 digs.
The Penn State-Altoona Lions finished 10-12 on the season, with an identical 4-3 record in AMCC play. They finished third in the three-way tiebreak due to losses to Pitt-Bradford and Mount Aloysius. They nearly broke into the top half of the playoff bracket, as they took 1st place Alfred State to 5 games over the weekend. They held a late lead in set 5 against the Pioneers but lost the deciding set 15-13. Preseason AMCC Offensive Player of the Year Lydia Mock leads the lions with 261 kills. She is also 3rd on the team with 301 digs. Lacee Barnhart is right behind her, recording 247 kills this season with 319 digs. Senior Kayla Moran serves as the Lions' primary setter, dishing out 739 assists on the season. Erin Lutz leads the team in digs with 352.
The teams previously met on October, 22nd. Despite the Lions winning the first set 25-16, the Panthers were able to storm back to even the match with a 25-12 win in set two. They won set three 27-25 and outlasted the lions 26-24 to close the match. Ruby Smith led the Panthers with 15 kills and a .483 hitting percentage, while Olivia Reese added 11. Tabitha Walker had 42 assists and 11 digs. Kayla Maslowski led 5 panthers to reach double figures in digs with 26. The Lions played the game without Lydia Mock. Lacee Barnhart led the team with 15 kills, while Taylor Myers added 11 kills.
The game is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 2nd in KOA Arena. For those unable to attend in their Royal Blue and Pitt Gold, live statistics and video links will be available on the Pitt-Bradford athletics website.
