Keuka Park, N.Y. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's volleyball program continued its strong start to the season on Saturday, winning two 5-set thrillers to move to 4-0. They battled back to win both matches, first defeating Hilbert 25-23, 14-25, 26-28, 25-21, and 16-14 before besting the hosts, Keuka 10-25, 25-21, 19-25, 25-16, 18-16.

Game One: Pitt-Bradford 3 - Hilbert 2

In a non-conference matchup with AMCC foe Hilbert, the Panthers started strong, winning set one. They dropped the next two, but battled back to win the match 3-2.

In set one, neither team grabbed control early, as neither team pulled ahead by more than one through 26 points. Tied at 13, the Panthers went ahead with two Hilbert errors and a kill by Marissa Bowman. They pushed their lead to 4 at 20-16 after a Jenna Louser block, Alycia Wilson ace, and Ruby Smith kill. Unfortunately, they were unable to put the set away, and Hilbert scored the next 7 points. Pitt-Bradford responded, finishing the set with five straight points. Bentley had a block and a kill in the rally, while Smith put down the final point.

The Panthers lost momentum between sets and started slow in Set 2, quickly falling behind 1-5. The Hilbert lead slowly grew to double digits, as the Panthers could not put together a rally to cut into the advantage. They cut the deficit to 7 after a Bowman Ace, but the Hawks finished the set with a 7-2 run to tie the match.

The third set began with an exchange of sideouts before two Hilbert errors and a Jenna Louser kill forced a Hawks timeout at 7-4. Brooke DeYoe added to the lead with an ace, but the Hawks battled back, scoring four in a row to cut the lead to one. Despite consecutive Louser kills, the rally continued, and the Hawks went ahead 11-13. Late in the set, the Panthers found themselves trailing the Hawks 20-23, but after Louser added two more points with a kill and a block, Bowman tied the set with an ace. Pitt-Bradford was able to put the Hawks on set point three straight times, but could not find the final point to put away Hilbert. Unfortunately, the Hawks closed the set with three in a row.

Despite two early Panther points in set four, Hilbert built another early lead with 5 straight. Trailing 10-5, the Panthers cut into the lead with four consecutive points, and the,n following a timeout and a service error, put together another 5-point rally to take the lead. Wilson had two aces, while Smith and Louser put down kills in the rally. The teams exchanged runs leading up to the end of the set, and eventually were tied at 21. Ryley Pago earned a sideout, and then the Panthers closed the set with a DeYoe ace and two Wilson kills, forcing a deciding fifth set.

Pitt-Bradford scored first in the 5th set, but quickly lost the lead. They kept the Hawks within two points through the mid-set switch and eventually found themselves against the wall following a service error. Facing two Hilbert match points, Bentley kept the Panthers alive with a kill, and then Wilson and Bowman teamed up for a block to tie the set at 14. After a Hilbert hitting error, Pago spiked the match-winning point after a lengthy rally.

Lillian Bentley led the Panthers with 19 kills in the victory. She also collected 14 digs and 3 solo blocks. Jenna Louser finished with 9 kills and tallied 5 total blocks. Ruby Smith added 8 kills and 14 digs, while Alycia Wilson put down 7 kills and 3 aces, leading the team with 28 digs. Marissa Bowman dished out 40 assists, led the team with 4 aces, and gathered 16 digs. Libero Danielle Sasuga collected 24 digs. 

Game Two: Pitt-Bradford 3 - Keuka 2

In their second game of the day, the Panthers struggled to restart after their 5-set victory, dropping the opening set 25-10. They battled back to win set two 25-21, but found themselves facing a loss after dropping set three 25-19. The Panthers stayed alive with a 25-16 win in the fourth, and then outlasted the hosts in another tight deciding set, securing the match victory with an 18-16 win.

In the opening set, the Panthers split the first 10 points with the Wolves, but quickly fell behind after a 4-0 run from Keuka. Pitt-Bradford cut the lead to two after a DeYoe ace, but the Panthers could not build momentum after the ace, and the hosts finished the set with a 16-3 run.

The Panthers jumped out to an early lead in the second set, but quickly saw Keuka get back in the game. The teams exchanged runs throughout the half, each pushing leads to two or three points before their opponent rallied to tie the set. Tied at 20, Ruby Smith took over for the Panthers. Following a service error, Smith put down a kill before Ryley PAgo and Lillian Bentley combined for a block. Smith combined with Pago to put the Wolves on set point, and then after a sideout, Smith picked up another kill to even the match at one.

Pitt-Bradford went ahead early again in the third set, but could not put away the Wolves. Four straight kills for Smith and Jenna Louser put the Panthers ahead 12-9, but Keuka responded with a 5-1 run to go ahead. Pitt-Bradford took one final lead at 17-16, but the hosts closed with a 9-2 run to go back ahead 2-1.

The Panthers fell behind to start the third set, but rallied with a 7-1 run to go ahead 8-4. Brooke DeYoe registered a kill to extend the lead to 4, but the hosts kept rallying, cutting the lead back down to 2. After a Louser kill, the Panthers took over and pushed their lead into double digits with a Pago kill. Ahead 24-14, Pitt-Bradford allowed Keuka to score twice to extend the set before Alycia Wilson finished the set with a kill, tying the match at 2.

In the deciding set, the Panthers took an early lead after a 3-point rally. The hosts responded with 5 of their own points to take control. Pitt Bradford rallied and eventually tied the set at 7 with kills by Bentley and Wilson. Keuka restored their lead with a 7-3 run and put the Panthers on match point. Pitt-Bradford responded one final time, scoring five straight points through two errors and points from Wilson, Smith, and Marissa Bowman. After Keuka went back ahead with two in a row, the Panthers rattled off another 3-point run to end the match. A service error gave the Panthers a side out before Smith put down a kill to put the game on match point. Danielle Sasuga stepped up to the service line and found the floor for an ace to win the match.

Lillian Bentley led the Panthers with 23 kills, while also tallying 19 digs and 4 assisted blocks. Alycia Wilson also reached double figures, putting down 11 kills. Ruby Smith finished with 9 kills, while also adding 3 aces. Marissa Bowman dished out 28 assists, while Danielle Sasuga collected 33 digs to lead the defensive effort.

The Panthers move their record to 4-0 through the first weekend of competition. They will return to action next Wednesday, when they take on Penn State-Beaver on the road.