Alfred, N.Y. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford volleyball team traveled to Alfred State for their penultimate match of the season on Tuesday, falling to the Pioneers in three sets.
The Panthers lost the first set 16-25 after the hosts rallied to score 13 of the final 17 points of the set, and then fell behind 2 sets to 0 after losing the next set 15-25. The Panthers started strong in the third but ultimately could not string together scoring rallies, falling 17-25 to close the match.
In the opener, the Panthers stayed ahead of the Pioneers early and took a two-point lead at 8-6 after a Summer Anderson kill. The hosts rallied with three straight, but Pitt-Bradford scored two of their own, retaking the advantage on a Ruby Smith kill. The teams exchanged side outs until the score was tied at 12, but Alfred State scored three more in a row, and then quickly added to their lead with three more after a side out. Trailing 16-20, the Panthers were unable to rally as Alfred State took the last 5 points of the set to go up one.
The Panthers got off to a slow start in the second set, as the Pioneers won the first four points. They were able to respond quickly, scoring 7 of the next 9 to take the lead. They used a Ryley PAgo kill, an ace from Anderson, and a block from PAgo and Jenna Louser to quickly cut the lead to one. After a side out, they scored three more in quick succession on three errors from the hosts. Pitt-Bradford was unable to maintain the momentum, however, as the Pioneers quickly scored four of their own to go back ahead. an error allowed the Panthers to slow the rally, but the hosts quickly added 5 more in a row to go ahead 8-16. Pitt-Bradford could only get the lead down to six points after a Taylor King service ace before the Pioneers closed the set with another 4-point rally.
Needing a victory in set three to extend the match, the Panthers took another early lead, scoring 4 of the first 6 points of the set. Smith started the set with two quick kills and then Anderson put the Panthers ahead with a kill of her own. The Panthers exchanged side-outs with the Pioneers until the hosts went ahead with 5 in a row with the score tied at 8. They eventually pushed their lead to double digits at 13-23 before the Panthers made one final push. After gaining the serve on a side out, back-to-back double blocks and a service ace saw the Panthers cut the deficit to 6. A service error ended the rally and then the match came to a quick end on a hitting error.
Ruby Smith led the Panther attack with 9 kills. She also finished with a .167 hitting percentage. Emma King added four kills, while Ryley Pago added two kills on two attacks. Alyssa Radtke had 16 assists in the match and added 5 digs. Kayla Maslowski led the back line with 10 digs, while BAylee Fitzsimmons added 9 more. Jenna Louser was in on all three Panther blocks in the match.
The loss drops the Panthers to 4-20 overall with a 1-7 record in AMCC play. They will bring their season to a close on Saturday, when they take on Pitt-Greensburg on the road. The match is slated for a 3:00 p.m. start.
