ALFRED, NY – The Alfred University women's volleyball team defeated University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, 3-0 on Wednesday evening from the Terry S. Galanis Family Arena.
 
The Saxons (6-1, 0-0 Empire 8) defeated the Panthers (1-12, 0-0 AMCC) 25-6, 25-11 and 28-26. The win marks Head Coach Mike Honeycutt's 25^th win at the helm of the program and the best start that the Alfred University women's volleyball team has had since 1980.
 
"After not playing for 17 days, I was worried we would be rusty and start slow," Coach Honeycutt said. "Fortunately, we started off strong and played well. I think playing at home helped for sure! It's great to win our first home match of the season."
 
The Saxons spread the fame out across the board with almost every player that stepped onto the court registering eight a point or a dig. Taylor Malone (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) led the scoring efforts with 10.5 points from eight kills (hitting a .412 with only one error on 17 attacks), two aces and a block assist, while also chipping in six digs.
 
Cara Bratthauar (Chambersburg, PA/Chambersburg Area) led the front line with one solo block and two assisted blocks but stood out behind the service line with four aces. Jessica Lucille Ramirez (Riverside, CA/Hillcrest) recorded 15 assists, followed by Leah Marques (Adelanto, CA/Adelanto) with her eight and Catherina Krause (Pflugerville, TX/Hendrickson) with six.
 
Jamie Chun (Hilo, HI/Hilo) had the back row on lockdown as she had 10 digs while also adding an ace in only two sets of action. Anjoeline Armstrong (Simi Valley, CA/Bishop Alemany) added eight.
 
The most interesting set was the third as Pitt-Bradford went on an 8-0 scoring run to take a 19-16 lead. The two teams battled back-and-forth until Pitt held a 24-22, set-point lead, looking to force the fourth set. A kill from Abigail Omelan (Tomball, TX/Tomball Memorial) and an attack error from the Panthers tied the set, guaranteeing extra points. Jade Wolfer (Nunda, NY/Keshequa) took the lead with an ace. Two points in a row for the Panthers then gave them the 26-25, set-point lead.
 
Omelan and Marques linked up to tie the match as Omelan registered a kill. Madalynn McGowan (Corona, CA/Norco) took the lead with an ace, right before Marques set Malone up for the match-clinching kill.
 
The Saxons will next face a two-day, four-match invitational at Misericordia University in Dallas, PA. They take on SUNY Oneonta to open play on Friday, September 27 at 6:00pm.