FREDONIA, N.Y. – The Pitt-Bradford volleyball team dropped its final two matches of the Fredonia State Tournament to Buffalo State and the Rochester Institute of Technology on Saturday afternoon. 

The Lady Panthers fell to Buffalo State 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-13) and RIT 3-0 (25-16, 25-11, 25-23) as well.

Pitt-Bradford (8-17, 2-1) struggled to find a victory versus two strong opponents in the Bengals and the Tigers. The offense scored points and the defense had its share of success, but neither could get it going long enough to reel off a win.

In the first match, the Panthers tallied a total of 34 kills to the Bengals 41. Defensively, Pitt-Bradford held the advantage with 68 digs to Buffalo State's 49.

Senior Taylor McMillen paced the offense with 10 kills. She tacked on one assist and four digs. Senior Brittni Cumberland and senior Peyton Kauffman each finished with double-digit figures in assists with 14 and 13, respectively. Cumberland added six kills and 22 digs, while Kauffman tacked on three digs of her own.

Defensively, sophomore Kelsey Repke had a strong performance with 15 digs. She also added one assist. Junior Jenessa Ceprish finished with 12 digs to go with one assist as well.

In the second match, RIT jumped on the Panthers early in each set, making it difficult to overcome the deficits. Pitt-Bradford put together a solid performance in the final set, nearly defeating the Tigers as it fell by just two points.

The offense struggled and as a result, defenders Ceprish and Repke guided the Panthers statistically. Ceprish finished with 15 digs and Repke registered 11.

"It wasn't the outcome we had hoped for," said head coach Tina Phillips. "There were times we played really well and times we really struggled. We just need to keep grinding and get ready for Tuesday night."

With the conclusion of the tournament, Pitt-Bradford now gears up for its annual Dig Pink Night. The Panthers host Hilbert at the KOA Arena at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 7.