Hamburg, NY -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford traveled to the Buffalo area on Tuesday as it faced Hilbert for the third time this season. Unlike the first two matchups, the Panthers struggled to string together scoring runs and lost to the Hawks 3-0.
The Panthers dropped the opening set 25-16, and then, after leading 10-8 in the second set, were outscored 15-6 down the stretch to fall behind 2-0 with a 25-17 set loss. Needing a win in set three to extend the match, the Panthers dropped the first four points and then never recovered, ultimately falling 25-19 to close the match.
The Panthers scored the first point of the match on a Ryley Pago kill, but then fell behind as the hosts scored 5 of the next 6 points. The Panthers limited the Hawks from adding to their lead and were able to cut the deficit to two after consecutive kills by Alycia Wilson. Unfortunately, they lost their momentum, and the Hawks opened up a commanding set lead with a 9-2 run. Ruby Smith put down a kill to stop the rally, but the deficit proved too great and they fell 25-16.
Pitt-Bradford fell behind once more early in the 2nd set, but were able to rally. Trailing 6-4, the Panthers tallied four straight points to jump into the lead. After two errors, Wilson recorded a kill, and Brooke DeYoe registered an ace. The Lead did not last long, as while ahead 11-9, the Panthers allowed another long scoring run, which put the hosts ahead. They committed 4 errors around 2 Hilbert kills to fall behind 15-11. They cut the lead down to two on back-to-back kills by Jenna Louser and Marissa Bowman, but then dropped the next six points in a row to lose the set 25-17.
In the third, the Panthers dropped the first four points of the set on three kills and an ace. The deficit grew to 7-2 before the Panthers rallied and trimmed the lead to 2 with three straight points. Once more, the Panthers were limited in scoring rallies, as the hosts maintained their two-point edge, and extended it to 6 at 20-14. The Panthers put together one final rally with a Wilson Kill and Fitzsimmons ace, but after the run ended on a service error, lost 3 of 4 points to finish the match.
Lillian Bentley led the Panthers with 9 kills in the match. Alysia Wilson added 5, while also leading the team with 20 digs. Jenna Louser had 3 kills on 8 swings while tallying 3 total blocks. Marissa Bowman finished with 18 assists, while Danielle Sasuga collected 8 17 digs.
The loss drops Pitt-Bradford to 16-8 with a 2-2 record in conference play. They will be back in action on Saturday, as they will travel to Mount Aloysius for a clash with the conference leaders.
