PITT-BRADFORD WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL SEASON COMES TO A CLOSE IN NCAA TOURNAMENT

The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's volleyball team wrapped up its 2018 season in the NCAA Tournament First Round Friday.

The defeat came at the hands of Thomas More (32-3), who entered the NCAA Tournament ranked No. 7 in the Nov. 6 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top 25.

Though the opponent on the other side of the net entered with a strong national reputation, Pitt-Bradford (20-13) hung tough. The Saints opened up the first set with a 9-2 lead, but Pitt-Bradford rallied eventually took a 13-11 advantage and forced a Thomas More timeout. But the Saints regrouped and took the first set, 25-17. Pitt-Bradford controlled the lead early in set two, opening up a 9-2 lead and eventually building an 11-4 advantage. Once again, though, the Saints found their offensive stroke and rallied to a 25-18 victory, taking a two-set lead.

The Saints continued their strong play and rolled to a win in the third set to take the match in straight sets and advance to the NCAA Tournament Second Round.

Treat led the team with six kills while Riley Anderson added five. Anderson led the team with 15 digs while Laura Hildebrand and Payton Orzech had eight apiece. Orzech assisted 18 of the team's 19 kills.

The defeat caps a memorable campaign for Pitt-Bradford, which won 20 games, went 7-2 in AMCC action, swept its way to the conference title match and pulled off a thrilling two-set comeback win at and against top-seeded Penn State-Behrend to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years.