Bradford, PA. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's volleyball team hosted Alfred State on Wednesday night, needing to pick up a win to keep their postseason hopes alive. The Panthers struggled to limit the Pioneers early and lost the match in three sets.
Pitt-Bradford had a rough start, as the visitors scored 10 of the first 11 points of the match. After Alfred State pushed their advantage to 18-5, The Panthers began to scratch back at the lead. With Kayla Maslowski a the service line, the Panthers scored 7 7 straight points to slash the lead down to 6. The rally included four errors and a pair of aces. After a timeout, the rally ended with a Pioneer kill, which stopped the momentum, and switched it back to the visitors. The Panthers could muster a few more points on a kill by Emma King and an Ace by Abby King, but the visitors finished the set with a 3-0 run to win 25-15.
Set two had a slightly better start than its predecessor, as Alycia Wilson had a pair of early kills, however the Pioneers were still able to build a commanding 11-3 lead. Trailing 14-6, the Panthers put together a rally of their own to battle back and cut the deficit down to four. Ruby Smith set down a kill to begin the run and then after a Pioneer error, JEnna Louser added another and Abby King recorded her second ace of the match. Another timeout paused momentum and stopped the rally, allowing the visitors to score 11 of the next 13 points to finish the set. Louser added a late kill and a block with Alexa Martinez, but the Pioneers won the set 25-12 with a 7-point run to finish it.
Despite the break between sets, the Pioneer run continued as the third set began. Alfred State started the final set with 9 consecutive points to open a commanding lead. Louser put the Panthers on the board with a kill, but her effort only slightly slowed the momentum as the Pioneers went on to build a 15-4 lead. Late in the set, the Panthers put together one final run, outscoring the Pioneers 5-1 to trim their deficit to 5. Martinez started the run with a kill, and then following a pair of side outs, added an ace to a Wilson kill and an Alfred State error, putting Pitt-Bradford down 21-16. The visitors were able to settle, and record 4 side outs to maintain their lead and finish the match with a 25-19 set win.
Alycia Wilson led the Panthers with 6 kills with a .095 hit percentage. She also added 3 digs. Jenna Louser finished with 4 kills and 2 assisted blocks. Pitt-Bradford split setting duties evenly as Abby King finished with 8 kills, and Alexah Martinez was just behind her ay 7. King added 2 aces, while Martinez had a kill and an ace. Kayla Martinez led the defensive effort with 9 digs.
The Panthers drop to 4-20 on the season with a 1-6 mark in AMCC play. The loss officially removes them from playoff contention. Pitt-Bradford will bring their season to a close on Saturday when they host Pitt-Greensburg on Senior Day. The match is slated to begin at 2:00 p.m. in KOA Arena.
