Bradford, PA. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's volleyball team returned to action in KOA Arena on Tuesday evening in a rematch with Fredonia. The Panthers struggled to score early against the Blue Devils and lost in straight sets.
Pitt-Bradford had a negative hitting percentage through the first two sets, falling behind after losing them 25-16 and 25-21. They were much more efficient in the third set but saw their opponents hit .312 to win the final set 25-17 and clinch the match.
The Panthers quickly found themselves behind, dropping six of the first 7 points of the match. They slowly closed the gap with a few Fredonia errors and kills by Alycia Wilson, Jenna Louser, and Ruby Smith. They trimmed the lead to two points at 10-8, but lost their momentum, as three straight errors allowed the visitors to restore their advantage. After the lead grew to 7, a block by Jenna Louser and Ruby Smith started to turn momentum back to the Panthers, until Fredonia closed strong, finishing the set with 5 of 6 points once more.
The Blue Devils got off to another quick start in set two, scoring the first three points before the Panthers could get on the board. Pitt-Bradford once again whittled the lead down to one point, but could not maintain momentum as Fredonia scored another 4 straight to open up a 5-point edge. Trailing 13-7, the Panthers rallied. They scored 5 in a row, which included a Louser kill, and concluded with three straight blocks. The Panthers eventually tied the score and seemed to have momentum in the set. Their run broke after a tight out call on a potential service ace to give Pitt-Bradford their first lead, and Fredonia pounced, outscoring the Panthers 8-3 down the stretch.
In the third set, the Panthers fell behind at the start, but after dropping the first 4 points, rallied to cut the lead to one. Following a solo block at the net to end the rally, Fredonia put on a run of their own, opening up a 7-point lead with a 9-3 run. Pitt-Bradford had one final rally, scoring 5 straight with Kayla Maslowski at the service line, but could not maintain it, as Fredonia was lethal late, putting down 6 kills and a block to finish the match.
Alycia Wilson led the Panthers with 7 kills on the night. Jenna Louser had a large presence in the middle, recording 5 kills and 5 total blocks. Brooklyn Bellavia led many of the Panther rallies, as she had 2 block assists, and 4 kills and hit .231 on the night. Alexah Martinez tallied 14 assists and 9 digs. Kayla Maslowski once again led the back line with 11 digs.
The Panthers fall to 1-8 with the loss. They will look to turn things around this weekend when they travel to Buffalo to play three games in Buffalo State's Bengal Challenge. They will play St. John Fisher on Friday, before taking on the hosts and Capital on Saturday.
