Bradford, PA -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford Volleyball team hosted Penn State-Behrend for its Annual Dig Pink game on Tuesday night. The Panthers dominated the opening set, but could not hold off the Lions for the remainder of the match, losing 3-1.
The Dig Pink game is a way for volleyball teams to raise awareness and funds for the fight against breast cancer. The Panthers provided attendees with information and collected donations before, during, and after the game.
The Panthers got off to a lightning-quick start, winning the opening set 25-13. The visitors came back with a 25-20 win in the second set and then outlasted the Panthers 26-24 in the tightest set of the match. In the 4th, the Panthers stayed with the Lions early, but ultimately fell 25-16.
Pitt-Bradford opened the match with three straight points, and then, after a side out, went ahead 6-1 with kills by Lillian Bentley and Alyssa Spang, and an Alycia Wilson Ace. They continued to tack onto their lead, and eventually extended it to double digits with a Brooke DeYoe ace at 15-5. The visitors cut into the lead with a 6-2 run, but the Panthers answered and closed the set by winning 8 of the final 10 points. The Panthers used two blocks, two kills, and a pair of aces in the run to win the set 25-13.
In the second set, the Panthers stayed with the Lions early, staying within two points of the Lions. With the Panthers trailing 8-7, the visitors went on a run, scoring 4 straight to move into the lead. Wilson put down a kill to end the run, but the Panthers were not able to cut into the lead for the remainder of the set. They were able to cut the lead to three after another Wilson ace at 22-19, but the Lions closed the set by scoring 3 of the final 4 points.
With the match tied at 1, the visitors scored 3 of the first 4 points of the third set, but Pitt-Bradford found an immediate answer and tied the set at 4 with a kill and a block by Bentley. Trailing 12-10, the Panthers rallied, scoring five straight to move into the lead. With Wilson at the service line, the Panthers used two errors, an ace, and a Ruby Smith Kill to go ahead 15-12. Another Smith spike pushed the lead to four, but Penn State-Behrend answered and eventually tied the set at 19. Trailing 23-22, the Panthers put the Lions on set point with a Bentley kill and Wilson ace, but they could not finish the set, and the Lions closed with three in a row to win 26-24.
In the fourth, the Panthers started with kills by Wilson and Bentley, but then fell behind as the visitors scored 6 of the next 7 points. The Panthers rallied with three straight on an error and kills by Smith and Jenna Louser, but it would be the final multiple-point rally for the Panthers. The Lions successfully converted 8 of the next 9 side outs, all while adding to their lead and eventually winning the set 25-16 to close the match.
Lillian Bentley led the Panthers with 15 kills. She also had 11 digs, 2 aces, and 3 total blocks. Ruby Smith and Jenna Louser each added 3 kills, while Louser tallied 4 total blocks. Alycia Wilson finished with 4 kills and led the team with 5 aces. Marissa Bowman dished out 24 assists, while also reaching double-digits in digs with 12. Danielle Sasuga led the defensive line with 23 digs.
The loss drops Pitt-Bradford to 15-7 with a 1-1 record in conference play. They will look to get back into the win column over the weekend, as they head to Pittsburgh for a road matchup with Carlow.
