Oberlin, Oh. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford volleyball team traveled to Ohio on Friday to play in the Oberlin Invitational. They took on Wooster and the hosts, Oberlin, falling in both games 3 sets to 0.

The Panthers started their trip with a match against Wooster. The Panthers lost the opening set 15-25, the second 20-25, and the third 22-25. 

The Fighting Scots jumped ahead early in set one, but the Panthers were able to battle to stay close, winning three straight points to keep their deficit at 5. Jenna Louser started the rally with a kill, which was followed by another from Emma King. Dylan Amic added a service ace to cap the run. The momentum did not stay with Pitt-Bradford for long, as Wooster scored 11 of the next 13 points to open up a 20-8 lead. The Panthers rallied to score 6 of 7 late in the set but Wooster was able to close the set quickly with three in a row of their own.

The second set was another back-and-forth battle as both teams posted multiple-point runs. Wooster had the first rally, scoring 5 in a row to turn a 4-4 tie into a 9-4 lead. Pitt-Bradford immediately answered, scoring 4 straight of their own, including two Kayla Maslowski aces, to cut the deficit back to 1 point. The Fighting Scots ended the rally and then posted another of their own, working to build a 23-13 lead over the next 17 points. An attack error from Wooster returned the serve to the Panthers and Dylan Amic single-handedly pulled the Panthers back into the set, recording 4 straight service aces to halve the Wooster advantage. After the streak ended with a kill, the Panthers cut further into the lead with an error and an Emma King kill, but could not complete the comeback any further.

Pitt-Bradford fell behind early in the third set but was able to score 6 straight points to take their first lead of the match. Ruby Smith started the rally with a kill and then after a pair of Fighting Scot hitting errors, rolled off 3 straight aces to put the Panthers up 9-7.  With the Panthers leading 13-10, the Fighting Scots rallied to score 10 of 13 points to take a dominating lead in the set. Trailing 16-20, Smith put down a kill to start a rally which cut the lead to one. Emma King added another kill and Ryley Pago and Morgan Frishkorn combined for a block, putting the Panthers down 19-20. Later in the set, Chloe Bellis recorded a pair of kills to keep the deficit at one, but Wooster scored on a pair of errors to end the match. 

The Panthers used a balanced attack in the match, as no player tallied more than 5 kills. Emma King and Bridget Kasting had 5 each, while Jenna Louser had 4. Chloe Bellis finished with 18 assists and added 3 kills, 2 aces, and led the defensive effort with 8 digs. Dlan Amic finished with 6 total aces, while Ruby Smith had 3 aces, 3 kills, and 6 digs.

In their second game of the day, the Panthers took on the hosts, Oberlin College. The Panthers struggled early, falling in set 1 15-25, before battling to a tough 23-25 set two loss. They closed their night with a difficult 3rd set, falling 12-25.

The Panthers fell behind early as the Yeowomen scored the first three points of the match, and went on to build a 3-11 lead. After their advantage was pushed to 11, the Panthers began to rally, scoring 6 of 7 points to cut into the lead. Marissa Bowman and Summer Anderson combined on a block to start the rally, before Bowman put down consecutive kills. Following a pair of sideouts, The Panthers cut further into the lead on a hitting error and an Anderson ace. The hosts responded, closing the set on a 7-3 run.

The Yeowomen started the second set with the first three points, but the Panthers battled back, quickly cutting the lead to one point, and keeping it there through 11 points. Oberlin slowly built a 6-point lead through the middle part of the set, but Pitt-Bradford responded, scoring 8 of 9 points to take their first lead of the match at 17-16. The rally contained kills from Pago, Taylor King, and Alyssa Radtke to go along with three Oberlin Errors. The teams exchanged short runs, but the Panthers were able to hold a 22-21 lead after a block from Radtke and Louser. Oberlin was able to answer, scoring three straight to put the Panthers on set point. Louser cut the lead back to one with a kill at 23-24, but Oberlin was able to answer with a side out to end the set. 

Pitt-Bradford struggled to get the third set started once again, this time losing the first 11 points to the Yeowomen. The deficit would prove to be too large for the Panthers, as they were only able to get the Oberlin lead into single digits at 9-18. After a few side-outs, the hosts put away the match, scoring 5 of the final 6 points. 

Marissa Bowman and Taylor King led the Panthers with 6 kills each. Bowman added 4 digs and a block. Alyssa Radtke served as the primary setter, recording 12 assists, while adding 2 aces, 7 digs, and 1.5 blocks. 

The losses move the Panthers to 1-8 on the season. They will play one more match in Ohio, as they take on Defiance at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning.