Chambersburg, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford Volleyball team traveled to Chambersburg, Pa. to play a pair of matches at the Wilson Trimatch. The Panthers lost 3-1 to Wilkes in the opener and then held off a rally by the hosts to win their second match 3-2.
Match 1 - Wilkes 3 - Pitt-Bradford 1
The Panthers began the day with a tough 4-set loss to Wilkes. The Panthers fell behind early as they lost the first two sets 21-25 and 16-25. They battled back to take the third set 25-15, but could not force a 5th game as they lost the 4th 23-25.
Pitt-Bradford fell behind early in set one, dropping the first three points of the match. Trailing 10-6 in the set, freshman Marissa Bowman recorded 3 kills in 4 points to even the match up at 11. Summer Anderson had a solo block on the next point to give the Panthers their first lead of the match. Unfortunately, they could not maintain the momentum, as the Colonels pushed their lead back to 5. Pitt-Bradford cut the lead to 2 after another Bowman kill and a Wilkes error, but would not be able to get any closer, as their opponents scored 5 of the next 7 points to close the set.
The Colonels took the lead again in the second set, slowly building another 5-point lead. The Panthers battled back through the middle portion of the set, cutting the lead down to 3 points, but Wilkes closed the set with another rally, scoring 8 of 10 points.
In the third, the Panthers started quickly, jumping out to an early 9-3 lead. Chloe Bellis and Summer Anderson had aces in the early run, while Bridget Kasting added a kill. The Panthers maintained their advantage throughout the majority of the set, and then finished strong after the Colonels cut their lead down to 3. Bailee Fitzsimmons picked up a kill to start a rally that saw the Panthers push their lead to double digits and breeze to a 25-15 win.
The Panthers were able to stay with the Colonels early in the 4th set, as the teams evenly split 16 opening points. Wilkes was able to break away with a five-point run to force a Panther timeout at 13-8. Pitt-Bradford would slowly chip away at the lead, eventually getting to within two points, but could not finish the comeback as the Colonels closed the set and match with 4 of 5 points.
Marissa Bowman led the Panthers with 10 kills. Bridget Kasting added 8 with 2 aces, 2 assists, and 6 digs. Chloe Bellis had a strong match, totaling 30 assists, 10 digs, 2 aces and 3 kills. Kayla MAslowski led the defensive effort with 17 digs.
Match 2: Pitt-Bradford 3 - Wilson 2
In the nightcap, the Panthers took on the hosts Wilson. After jumping out to a quick 2-set lead, the Phoenix battled back to tie the match at 2. In the deciding 5th set, the Panthers responded to a slow start to win 15-11 and secure the victory.
The teams exchanged side-outs to start the match, and then the Panthers jumped ahead, using three straight Wilson errors to go ahead 7-4. After the hosts took a 9-10 lead, the Panthers rallied as a Bridget KAsting kill restored the lead, and a pair of points from Ruby Smith put the Panthers up 3. The Phoenix battled back late, cutting the lead back to one point, but after an Emma King kill ended the Rally, the Panthers finished the set with two Wilson errors and a set-finishing kill from Morgan Frishkorn at 25-21.
Set two saw the Panthers jump ahead immediately, scoring 7 of the first 8 points. The hosts slowly chipped away at the lead but Taylor and Emma King each had important rally-stopping kills to keep the Panthers in front. Wilson eventually tied the set at 23, but two subsequent errors from the hosts gave the Panthers the set.
Looking to sweep the match, the Panthers traded side-outs with the Phoneix early in the 3rd, but could not string together any rallies. The hosts eventually strung points together, and slowly built their lead. The Panthers were only able to score consecutively 1 time, as the Phoneix slowly added to their lead and won the set 16-25.
Pitt-Bradford's struggles continued in the 4th set, as Wilson took an early 2-10 lead. The Panthers rallied with a 7-point deficit, as two consecutive kills from Bowman and Jenna Louser cut the deficit to just two points. The Panthers were not able to continue the rally, as Wilson responded and quickly pushed their lead back to 8 points at 13-21. Louser and Bowman each added one more kill in the set, but it would not be enough as the Phoenix took the set 16-25 to force a deciding 5th set.
The Panthers got off to a slow start in the deciding set, dropping the first three points on two errors and an ace. They began cutting into the lead with kills by Kasting and Frishkorn, before tying the match at 6 after two Wilson errors. The teams exchanged 3 side-outs until the Panthers broke open the set with 4 straight. Kasting started the rally with a kill and then Summer Anderson took over for the Panthers recording 3 straight points to put the Panthers ahead 12-9. From that point, the Panthers were able to slowly put the match away, ultimately winning the set 15-11 on another Kasting kill.
Emma King led the Panthers, finishing with 10 kills. Bridget Kasting and Jenna Louser added 8 each, while Ruby Smith had 5 kills on 10 swings without an error. Chloe Bellis tallied 20 assists, while Alyssa Radtke also reached double figures at 12. Kayla Maslowski added 26 more digs, while Baylee Fitzsimmons had 13.
The Panthers record is now 3-13 as they enter AMCC play. They will begin their conference schedule on Tuesday, as they host Penn State-Behrend. The match is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. in KOA Arena.
