Bradford, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford volleyball team played their first match in KOA Arena Tuesday evening, falling to Houghton 3-1.
The Panthers struggled early, and despite winning a hotly contested third set, lost the match in four. They fell behind with 25-8 and 25-18 in the first two sets. They held on to win the third 27-25, but dropped the fourth set 25-14 to finish the match.
Pitt-Bradford showed some nerves to start the game, as they struggled to break Houghton's serve, allowing the visitors to score the first 11 points of the game. A Service error ended the run before the Panthers added two on a block by Jenna Louser and Brooklyn Bellavia and a Highlander hitting error. Houghton continued adding to their lead throughout the set as the Panthers only mustered 8 points, with only two coming by their own attack.
In the second, the Panthers fared much better, staying level with the visitors through 12 points. After a kill by Alycia Wilson tied it at 6, the Panthers fell behind after a pair of errors. The deficit grew to six after a 6-2 run midway through the set. Back-to-back kills by Hannah Hirata and Wilson whittled the lead down to four, but their efforts were quickly followed by four straight points by Houghton. The Panthers had one more rally on the set with Dylan Amic at the service line. A double block by Wilson and Ryley Pago started the run before the Panthers cut the lead to three with kills by Alexah Martinez and Wilson and an Amic ace. The lead was too great, however, as Houghton closed the set on a 5-1 run.
The Panthers were able to jump ahead early in the third, scoring four in a row to force a Houghton timeout at 8-4. A Louser kill pushed the lead to six, before a mini-rally by the Highlanders saw the Panther advantage cut back down to three points. Late in the set, the Panthers restored their six-point edge with two kills and an ace by Wilson, and a few Houghton errors. They were ahead 22-16 before Houghton made a final push, eventually tying the set at 24 after a block. Following two side-outs, a Houghton service error gave the Panthers another chance to win the set and extend the match. They were able to take advantage of their third set point, using a Pago kill to send the match to the 4th.
Pitt-Bradford started the 4th set in a similar fashion to the opener, letting the visitors jump out to a 5-point edge before they could open the scoring. A timeout was followed by a service error to end the run and trimmed the lead to three after kills by Louser and Ruby Smith. That would be as close as the Panthers would get to erasing the deficit, as Louser's kill was followed by six in a row, pushing the Houghton lead to 13-4. Louser and Martinez each had another kill in the closing stages, but the Panthers were forced into 7 late errors, bringing the match to an end.
The Panthers had a tough time attacking with efficiency in the match, hitting -.046 as a team. They were led by Alycia Wilson, who had 8 kills. She also added 2 assists, 2 aces and 7 digs. Jenna Louser added 6 kills, while Mia Gonzalez was one of two hitters to have a positive hitting percentage, recording 5 kills. Ryley Pago also hit in the positive numbers, recording 3 kills on 8 swings. Alexah Martinez dished out 25 assists, while also chipping in with 3 klls and 8 digs. Libero Kayla Maslowski led all players with a match-high 25 digs.
The Panthers fall to 1-4 on the season. They will be back in action on Friday, as they will travel to Mount Union to play in the Raiders tournament. They will play the hosts at 6:00 and then take on Grove City at 8.
