Monaca, PA -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's volleyball team added to its undefeated record on Wednesday night, defeating Penn State-Beaver in 4 sets. They could not hold onto a large lead in the first set, but came back to win three in a row to close out the match.
Pitt-Bradford dropped the opening set 25-22, but won the next three 25-18, 25-12, and 25-15.
After dropping the opening point, the Panthers quickly built a lead. They scored the next five points to force an early timeout. The Lions answered with two points on Pitt-Bradford errors, but the Panthers quickly piled onto their lead, scoring 11 of the next 12 points to go ahead 16-4. They took advantage of 5 Penn State-Beaver errors in the run, while Ruby Smith had 3 aces. A service error stopped the run and switched momentum to the home side. The Lions exchanged sideouts and then scored 8 straight points to cut the deficit to 2. Following another exchange of stops, the hosts closed the set with a 5-1 run to win 25-22.
Pitt-Bradford looked to strike back in the second set, but could not build any momentum and were tied at 8 through 16 points. The hosts jumped ahead with a 4-1 run, but the Panthers quickly responded. A Lillian Bentley kill sent Danielle Sasuga to the service line, where the Panthers scored 4 more in a row to take the lead. Ahead 16-15, the Panthers used another run that included a pair of aces from Baylee Fitzsimmons to take charge of the match. Pitt-Bradford closed the set on a 5-2 run that was punctuated by a Bentley kill to even the match at one set apiece.
Marissa Bowman started the third set with a pair of aces, but the Lions responded with a 5-1 run to jump into the lead. After a Ryley Pago lead ended the rally, Smith recorded two more aces to put Pitt-Bradford in front. Penn State-Beaver scored two straight to restore their lead, but following a kill by Alyssa Spang, Bentley picked up four aces around a hitting error to force a timeout with Pitt-Bradford up 12-7. The hosts stopped the rally with two points before Fitzsimmons served the Panthers to 6 straight to open a commanding 21-9 lead. The teams exchanged service errors, and Penn State-Beaver cut the lead to 10, but the Panthers finished the set with three in a row to go ahead 2-1.
Looking to close out the match, the Panthers came out firing, quickly building an 11-4 lead. The hosts grabbed two points back; however, Fitzsimmons continued her success at the service line, leading the Panthers to 5 straight points, including three aces. Three straight Bentley kills pushed the lead to 13, and then Ryley Pago put the Panthers on match point with a sideout. The hosts had one final push, scoring 4 in a row, but Spang was able to put down one final kill to end the match.
Lillian Bentley once again led the Panther attack. She registered 13 kills with a .333 hitting percentage. She also chipped in with 4 aces, 4 digs, and 2 blocks. Alyssa Spang added 7 kills at a .222 rate, while Marissa Bowman directed the offense with 23 assists in 3 sets. The Panthers had an incredible match at the service line, tallying 22 aces in the contest. Ruby Smith led with 6, while Baylee Fitzsimmons had 5, and Danielle Sasuga added 3.
The victory moves Pitt-Bradford to 5-0 on the season. They will have nearly a week off before returning to action in their home opener on Tuesday. They will host Penn State-Shenango at 7:00 p.m. in KOA Arena.
