Bradford, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford volleyball team opened its AMCC schedule on Tuesday night, falling to Penn State-Behrend in straight sets.
The Panthers were unable to keep up with the Lions on the night, as they lost all three sets by large margins. They fell in the opener 25-17 and then lost both the second and third sets with identical scores of 25-15.
The Panthers fell behind early in set one but were able to fight back and open up a lead. Trailing 5-2, The Panthers were able to score 6 straight points to go ahead 5-8. Bridget Kasting had a pair of aces in the rally, while Jenna Louser and Marissa Bowman added kills. Unfortunately, they were unable to maintain the momentum, as the Lions answered with 8 of the next 9 points to restore their advantage. They continued adding to their lead for the remainder of the set, as the Panthers could not muster a rally of more than 2 points.
Pitt-Bradford took the first point of the second set but quickly fell back behind the Lions. The visitors scored the next three points and then never relinquished the lead. The Panthers were able to cut their deficit down to three points after three straight kills from Summer Anderson, Morgan Frishkorn, and Marissa Bowman. The teams traded side-outs but with the score 16-13, The Lions scored 8 of the final 10 points of the set to take a 2-0 lead.
Needing a win in the third set to extend the match, the Panthers once again fell behind early, as the Lions took an early 9-3 lead. The Panthers were able to battle back, cutting the lead down to one point at 13-12. Unfortunately, they were not able to completely erase the lead, and the Lions were able to respond and quickly restore their 6-point edge at 19-13 and then coast to a 10-point set win.
Summer Anderson and Jenna Louser paced the Panthers with 6 kills each. Anderson was extremely efficient, as she used only 8 attacks and did not register a hitting error. Chloe Bellis had another strong all-around game. She tallied 19 assists and was also able to reach double-figures in digs with 10. She also added 2 kills. Kayla MAslowski led the defense with 11 digs.
The loss drops the Panthers to 3-13 on the season with an 0-1 record in AMCC play. They will return to the court on Saturday, October 7th, when they host LaRoche at 7:00 p.m.
