BRADFORD, Pa. – Pitt-Bradford head volleyball coach Tina Phillips grabbed her 150th win at the helm of the program on Tuesday night, as the Lady Panthers defeated Elmira 3-0. Pitt-Bradford won 25-22, 25-23 and 25-19 to snag the sweep.
The Lady Panthers (3-2) had their work cut out for them as the Soaring Eagles put a fight throughout the match. Pitt-Bradford registered 29 kills during the contest to go with 52 digs and six total blocks.
Senior Taylor McMillen, the recently named Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference volleyball player of the week, led the Panthers with 11 kills, one assist, one dig and two service aces. Fellow senior Brittni Cumberland registered 16 assists and 10 digs to go with two blocks and five kills.
Junior Jenessa Ceprish and sophomore Kelsey Repke each tallied 12 digs. Ceprish also grabbed five kills and two service aces. Repke added two assists and two services as well.
The Panthers fell in a hole in the first set, down 4-2 early. It didn't faze the team at all though as the offense put together several successful points to take the lead. Pitt-Bradford jumped to a 16-12 advantage before the Eagles came soaring back to make it close. In the end it was Pitt-Bradford on top with a Kaitlin McCann service ace to seal the win.
In the second set, it was the offense from Pitt-Bradford that went to work early. The Panthers jumped out to another lead before once again, Elmira came back and even took the lead momentarily. That was short-lived however, as Pitt-Bradford notched the second win on an Elmira service error to secure the final point.
In the third and final set, the Panthers grabbed the lead from the start and never looked back. McCann's kill with the score 24-19 sealed the win and the sweep for Pitt-Bradford.
The victory puts the Panthers over .500 heading into this weekend's Case Western Tournament in Cleveland, Ohio. Pitt-Bradford faces Case Western in the first match on Friday, Sept. 5. First serve is set for 4 p.m.
