Lynchburg, VA -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's volleyball team was back in action on Saturday, as they played two tough ODAC teams in Lynchburg, Virginia. The Panthers lost the opener to Randolph 3-1, before falling to Lynchburg in straight sets to close the trip.
Game One: Randolph 3 - Pitt-Bradford 1
The Panthers opened the day with a matchup against the hosts, Randolph. The Panthes lost the first two sets 25-17 and 26-24, but were able to extend the match with a 25-23 win in the third. Unfortunately, they could not complete the comeback, losing set 4 25-22 and the match 3-1.
The Panthers took an early lead in set one after a Ryley Pago kill and a Randolph error, but then fell behind the Wildcats after an 8-1 run. The Panthers slowed the initial rally with kills from Lillian Bentley and Jenna Louser, but then allowed an 8-2 run to see the deficit grow to 9 points. The Panthers scored 7 late points in the set, but could not get closer to the hosts than 7 points before losing the set 25-17.
After losing the first point os set two, the Panthers scored three straight on a pair of Randolph errors and a Bentley kill, but then saw the hosts move in front with five straight. The Panthers stopped the rally with two straight Bentley kills, and then, after a few errors, tied the score at 8 on a double block by Brooke DeYoe and Jenna Louser. The Wildcats went in front through the middle of the set until back-to-back kills by Louser and Bentley tied the score again at 15, and an error put the Panthes in front. The teams exchanged sideouts and remained tied at 23. Jenna Louser put the Panthers on set point with her 4th kill of the set, but the hosts rolled off three straight points to close the set 26-24.
Pitt-Bradford started set three slowly, dropping the first four points, but were able to chip away at the deficit and then, using a four-point run, took their first lead of the third set at 16-15. Randolp retook the lead with a 4-point rally, but Alycia Wilson recorded consecutive kills to tie the score at 22. After an exchange of sideouts, Bentley put down back-to-back spikes to win the set and send the match into the fourth.
The Panthers started the 4th strong, using kills by Bentley and DeYoe and a Wilson ace to take an early 5-1 lead. The Wildcats responded, grabbing control of the set with a 16-3 run. trailing 18-9 and facing elimination, the Panthers rallied. After Marissa Bowman earned a sideout with a dump set, she served the Panthers to 5 straight points to trim the lead to three. She had an ace in the run, while Wilson added two more kills. Randolph slowed the rally, but kills by Bentley and Alyssa Spang continued to cut into the deficit. The Panthers were able to tie the score with a Bentley ace at 21-21, but the hosts closed the match with a 4-1 run.
Lillian Bentley led the Panthers with 16 kills in the match. She also chipped in defensively with 12 digs. Alycia Wilson also had double figures and kills and digs, finishing at 10 and a team high 18. Jenna Louser also tallied 10 kills, while hitting .391 and adding a pair of blocks. Marissa Bowman dished out 32 assists while also recording 3 kills, 2 aces, 7 digs, and a block. Danielle Sasuga and Brooke DeYoe each collected 14 digs in the loss.
Game Two: Lynchburg 3 - Pitt-Bradford 0
To close the trip south, the Panthers had a tough matchup with Lynchburg, who entered the match 15-1 with a win over #6 Washington & Lee last week. The Panthers struggled to keep up with the Hornets, falling 25-17, 25-16, and 25-20.
Pitt-Bradford fell behind quickly, dropping six of the first 8 points with their only tallies coming through service errors. Ruby Smith ended the run with a kill, and then the Panthers trimmed the lead to one after consecutive Hornet errors. Lynchburg answered, using three straight aces to begin a 7-0 run to open up a commanding 13-5 lead. The Panthers were able to chip away at the lead for the remainder of the set, eventually cutting the deficit to 5 after a Brooke DeYoe ace and an attack error. Unfortunately, the set ended soon after, as the Hornets scored three straight to win the set.
The Panthes started the second set slowly, dropping the first six points. After Alyssa Spang ended the run, they trimmed the lead to 2 with three Lillian Bentley kills and one from Ruby Smith. The Hornets cut the rally short and then were able to limit the Panthers from rallying, maintaining their lead. After a Smith kill put Pitt-Bradford behind 18-15, Lynchburg closed the set as efficiently as they opened it, outscoring the Panthers 7-1 down the stretch to win the set 25-16.
Needing a win to extend the match, the Panthers fell behind again in the third, dropping the first 5 points. They cut away the lead throughout the set, using two kills each from Jenna Louser and Bentley before three straight Lynchburg errors tied the set at 15. The Hornets used a kill and two Panther errors to go back up by three, but the Panthers immediately answered, as Smith, Wilson, and Louser finished consecutive kills to retie the score. Lynchburg found the answer once more, outscoring the Panthers 7-2 to finish the match.
Jenna Louser finished the match with 5 kills, but was highly efficient for the Panthers, needing just 10 swings to post a hit percentage og .500. Lullian Bentley finished with a team-high 6 kills, while Ruby Smith also added 5. Marissa Bowman tallied 13 assists, while Danielle Sasuga and Brooke DeYoe each collected 9 assists.
The losses drop the Panthers to 12-5 on the season. They will have a week off before returning to action this Saturday for another trimatch. They will return to Elmira, where they will face Houghton and the hosts. Action starts at 3:00 p.m.
