Bradford, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford volleyball team held off a comeback attempt by Elmira College, winning a thrilling season-opening contest 3 games to 2.
The Panthers jumped out to an early lead, as they took advantage of 9 Elmira errors to win set 1 25-10. After a Pitt-Bradford attack error made the score 6-5 in the set, the Panthers outscored the Soaring Eagles 14-3 to take a commanding lead. The Panthers used an 8-% side-out percentage to limit Elmira from putting together any scoring runs and added a .263 hitting percentage to dominate the set.
After Pitt-Bradford jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in set 2, the Soaring Eagles found their footing and rolled off 7 straight points to take the lead. They pushed their advantage to as many as 5 but were able to tie things up when Dylan Amic converted a service ace to tie things up at 16. The Panthers added two more points with Amic at the service line before Elmira battled back, taking a 22-21 lead. Following a Pitt-Bradford time-out, an Elmira service error tied the set and the Panthers were able to move to set point on an attack error and a Darby Deniston kill. After an Elmira side out, Deniston was able to put down another kill to give the Panthers a commanding 2-set advantage.
Set three saw Elmira take an early advantage, but the Panthers battled early on, eventually tying the score and taking a 12-11 lead on a kill by Amic. Pitt-Bradford went cold after that, as Elmira built a 14-18 lead. Pitt-Bradford was able to cut into the advantage with an Olivia Reese kill and an ace from Eve Brink, but a 6-1 run for Elmira closed the set and extended the contest.
The Panthers struggled at the start of set four, as they quickly fell behind 4-1. With the momentum switching to the Elmira side of the court, the Panthers struggled to keep up with their opponents who never trailed in the set. Pitt-Bradford hit just .047 percent in the set, while Elmira was able to tally 15 kills at a .270 clip. They evened the match at two after closing set four with another 5-point rally.
Tied at 2, the game moved into its final deciding set, where the Panthers once again were chasing the lead after Elmira slowly built up a 5-8 advantage. A Ruby Smith kill brought the Panthers back to within two and an attack error and Tabitha Walker kill allowed the Panthers to tie things up at 8. The teams traded side-outs as the score remained tied through 14 points before the Panthers were finally able to put two rallies together to secure the win. Smith put down a clutch kill to put the Panthers ahead 15-14 and after a long rally, Reese brought the night to a close as she tallied her game-high 16th kill.
Reese led the Panthers as she recorded 16 kills with a .143 hitting percentage. She also added 2.0 blocks. The Panthers' freshman trio of Ruby Smith, Darby Deniston, and Jenna Louser also had strong performances, finishing with 7 kills each. Smith and Deniston each added a service ace, while Louser was in on 3 blocks. Tabitha Walker dished out 33 assists in the match while adding 9 digs and 1 kill. Libero Kayla Maslowski led the defensive effort with 10 digs, while Eve Brink and Stephanie Carson both put in strong performances on the back line, recording 13 and 10 digs respectively. Brink and Maslowski also added 3 service aces each.
With their victory, the Panthers move to 1-4 on the season. They will be right back in action this weekend when they travel to Bluffton, Oh. to play in the Sommer Center Spiketacular. The Panthers will take on the hosts, Bluffton, at 7:00 p.m. on Friday night, before playing Bethany and Baldwin Wallace at 10 and 12:30 on Saturday.
