Oswego, N.Y. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's volleyball team played two more games at the Oswego Invitational on Saturday, winning one and losing one. They began their day with a 3-set sweep of Keuka, but then could not close out a 2-set lead against Brockport, ultimately losing the match in 5 sets.
Game One: Pitt-Bradford 3 - Keuka 0
To open the day, the Panthers had their second rematch of the season, this time against Keuka, who they beat 3-2 on the opening weekend of competition. This time, the Panthers won in straight sets, winning a tight first set 30-28 before breezing through the second two, 25-15 and 25-13.
In the opening set, the Panthers stayed with the Wolves early, as the teams evenly split the first 10 points of the match. Keuka jumped ahead with a 3-point rally, but the Panthers were able to slowly chip away at the deficit and tie the set back up at 11. After Pitt-Bradford took a 13-12 lead, Keuka rallied, scoring 4 straight. They maintained a 4-point edge until the Panthers strung together a rally to tie the score at 20. The run began with a double block from Jenna Louser and Alyssa Spang, and then, after a pair of Alycia Wilson kills, Baylee Fitzsimmons put down an ace to tie the score. The Wolves quickly responded and pushed the Panthers to set point, but Pitt-Bradford forced a few errors and continued the set with 4-straight of their own. With the Wolves leading 28-27, the Panthers put together one more run, scoring three straight to win the set 30-28.
The Panthers kept the momentum as the match moved into he second set, scoring the first four points. Marissa Bowman began the set with two aces, and Jenna Louser added a kill in the rally. The Panthers kept their advantage through one rotation until Bowman stepped back up to the service line. The junior setter served Pitt-Bradford to another four-point rally. It began with an error, before Lillian Bentley put down a pair of kills around one from Ruby Smith. Despite a side out, the Panthers continue to extend their lead, as Fitzsimmons tallied two more aces after a pair of Bentley kills. Pitt-Bradford pushed its lead to 12 after a double block and then saw out the set with a trio of side outs.
Needing one more set to secure victory, the Panthers jumped ahead quickly in set three, opening with a 15-2 run. A Louser kull began the set before Bowman tallied three straight aces. She served the Panthers to 6 straight points, and then, after an error, the Panthers took the serve right back. Fitzsimmons stepped up and served the Panthers to 4 more. Bentley added three more kills to her total, while also combining on a block with Louser. Libero Danielle Sasuga finished the run with three more points, including one ace and kills by Bentley and Wilson. From that point, the Panthers were able to limit the Wolves and slowly move to match point. Wilson put down the final kill to win the set 25-13.
Lillian Bentley led all attackers with 15 kills. She hit .371 in the match and also chipped in on the defensive end with 9 digs and 3 total blocks. Jenna Louser and Alycia Wilson both finished with 9 kills. Louser was incredibly efficient, hitting .692 and also added 5 blocks. Marissa Bowman directed the attack with 31 assists and also tallied 6 aces and 12 digs. Danielle Sasuga led the Panthers' back line with 16 digs.
Game Two: Pitt-Bradford 2 - Brockport 3
To close the invitational, the Panthers face SUNY Brockport. They jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead with dominating victories of 25-14 and 25-13. They let the Golden Eagles stay alive with a 14-25 loss in set three, and then, despite pushing Brockport to the brink, went to a 5th set after a 25-27 loss. In the decider, the Panthers fell behind, but rallied to tie the set at 14. Unfortunately, they would not complete the comeback and fell 14-16.
The Panthers continued to roll as the match began, quickly jumping out to an 8-2 lead. Jenna Louser started the match with a kill, and then, with a 5-2 lead, Danielle Sasuga served Pitt-Bradford to three straight points. Leading 9-5, the Panthers strung together two long rallies, quickly pushing their lead to 13 points. Alycia Wilson served the Panthers to four straight points in a run that included an ace, two kills from Ruby Smith, and one more from Lillian Bentley, and then, after a side-out exchange, Hannah Hirata stepped in and served another 4-point run. Louser had a kill and a half a block in the rally, while Hirata punctuated the run with an ace. The Panthers allowed Brockport to cut into the lead late, as their advantage was trimmed to 9, but closed the set with a Bentley kill and a Brockport error to win 25-14.
Pitt-Bradford had another strong start in set two, this time building an early 9-3 edge. The Panthers had some help in the early run, as the Golden Eagles committed seven early errors, while Wilson and Smith had kills. They maintained the advantage until Sasuga stepped up to the service line with a 16-10 lead. Bentley had two kills around a pair of Brockport errors in the rally. The Panthers closed the match with a 4-1 run, which consisted of one kill from Wilson, Smith, and Bentley, and finished with an attack error to win the set 25-13.
Brockport took an early lead in the third, scoring the first four points of the set, but the Panthers battled back and eventually took the lead at 9-8. The lead did not last long, as the Golden Eagles quickly went back in front with three straight, and then after an exchange of side outs, they closed the set with a 12-2 run. Bentley had the only two kills for the Panthers in the stretch.
The Panthers started strong in the 4th, taking a 3-point lead to begin the set. Brockport slowly chipped away at the lead and, after taking a lead, went on a 5-0 run with two aces and a pair of Panther errors. Pitt-Bradford trailed 20-16 but was able to even the score with four straight errors by the Golden Eagles. Brockport put together another 4-1 run to put the Panthers on set point, but Pitt-Bradford battled back with two errors and a Bowman kill to tie the score at 24. The teams exchanged kills and then Brockport won the set with two straight points at 27-25.
In the deciding set, Brockport quickly went ahead with a 5-1 run to begin the set. They pushed their lead to 9-3 before the Panthers put together a rally. Pitt-Bradford scored 6 of the next 7 points to cut the lead to one. The Panthers used 3 errors, 2 kills from Smith, and another by Bowman to go down 10-9. Brockport stayed in front with an exchange of side outs before scoring two in a row to move to match point. With their backs against the wall, the Panthers scored three straight to tie the score at 14. Bentley put down a spike to start the rally, and then after an error, Danielle Sasuga recorded an ace to tie it up. Unfortunately, the Panthers could not complete the comeback, dropping two points on a service error and an ace to end the match.
Lillian Bentley led the attack with 19 kills. She hit .200 in the match. Ruby Smith also hit double digits, finishing with 11 kills, while Jenna Louser and Alycia Wilson each added 8. Marissa Bowman finished with 38 assists. Danielle Sasuga collected a team-high 23 digs and also added a pair of aces. Wilson also reached double figures in digs, finishing with 16.
The Panthers finish the weekend with an 11-2 record. They will be back in action at home this week, when they host Alfred on Tuesday. The match is set to begin at 7:00 p.m.
