Wooster, Oh. -- After falling behind 0-2, the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford volleyball team nearly battled back to force a 5th set against Westminster in their 3rd match of the Ginny Hunt Kilt Classic, but came up just short, falling to the Titans in 4 sets.

The Panthers lost the first two sets 17-25 and 16-25. They were able to win set three 25-22 and were a point away from winning set four, but were unable to close out Westminster, falling 26-28. 

Pitt-Bradford battled early in set one, as they stayed with the Titans through 11 points. They were unable to keep up the pace throughout the set, however, as Westminster was able to score 6 straight points to take a commanding lead. The Panthers looked to start a comeback as they scored 4 straight following a Ryley Pago kill, but they could not hold on to the momentum, as Westminster quickly scored 6 of 8 to build an insurmountable lead.

The Panthers jumped ahead early in set two on the strength of back-to-back service aces from Tabitha Walker, But the Titans put together another long rally, scoring 10 of 12 points to turn a 3-point deficit into a 5-point advantage. West minster was able to maintain the momentum, finishing strong and limiting the Panthers to 16 points.

Set three saw the Panthers take an early lead, and then use a 9-1 stretch to build a 6-point lead. After Westminster whittled the lead down to 1, the Panthers responded and a double block from Ruby Smith and Summer Anderson restored the 6-point edge. Westminster made one final push to cut the lead back to 1, but a Ruby Smith kill and Stephanie Carson ace gave the set to the Panthers.

Pitt-Bradford got into trouble early, as the Titans quickly jumped out to a 9-2 lead. The Panthers slowed the Westminster charge through the middle of the set, before going on a 6-point run with Chloe Bellis at the service line to cut the deficit to 2. Kaitlyn Sexton bookended the rally, while Emma King had back-to-back kills. After a service error gave the serve back to Westminster, The Panthers continued their run, scoring three more to tie the set at 10 and force a timeout. The Panthers had two opportunities to close the set following kills from Smith and King, but the Titans rolled off three straight points to end the match.

Olivia Reese led the way for the Panthers, totaling 15 kills. No other Panther was able to reach double figures, but Emma King set a new career high with 8. Tabitha Walker posted 40 assists for the second consecutive match while adding 4 aces, 2 kills, and 9 digs. Stephanie Carson served as Libero for the game, picking up 34 digs. 

The Panthers will play 1 more game in Wooster, as they take on Capital next.