Panthers Slip Past Behrend in AMCC Opener

ERIE, Pa. – The reigning Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) champions, Pitt-Bradford Panthers, defeated Penn State Behrend 3-0 in a close match on Wednesday evening in the Junker Center.

The win marks just the third time the Panthers (5-11, 2-1 AMCC) beat the Lions (7-12, 0-1 AMCC) in the last 11 seasons.  Pitt-Bradford won 30-28, 25-21 and 28-26.

The opening set was a see-saw battle, going point-for-point back and forth. Behrend went ahead 28-27, but Pitt-Bradford won the next three points to go ahead, 1-0.

In the second set, the Panthers broke a 21-all tie with a side-out and three straight points on Laura Long's serve to pull out the win, 25-21.  

The Lions took a 13-9 lead and kept a two-point edge until 22-20. From there, the set was tied twice and the Panthers closed the match with a 28-26 victory.

Chelsea Magnusen (Plum, PA/Plum) tallied 36 assists, helping Stefanie Kelley (Moon Township, PA/Moon) and Mary Sperry (Atlantic, PA/Conneaut Lake) to get 13 kills each. Kelly and Sperry also added 18 and 19 digs, respectively.

Jessica Woods (Corry, PA/Corry) led at the net with five blocks.

Behrend returns to action on Saturday at Penn State Altoona. Match begins at 1 p.m.