Purchase, NY (Oct. 20, 2016) – Pratt Institute withstood two tough sets en route to a 3-0 victory at Purchase College Thursday night.

The Cannoneers improved to 9-6 in the non-conference matchup. They won 25-22, 25-16 and 25-7.

Despite another valiant effort, the loss drops Purchase to 1-19. The Panthers showed plenty of mettle in their second to last home contest. 

Pratt and Purchase were closely matched. In the first set, the two see-sawed, with the Cannoneers taking an 11-9 advantage early before Purchase rallied. It was 18-17 late and the back-and-forth play continued. Pratt took a 21-18 lead, but the Panthers made it 21-20 and later 24-22 before the visitors sealed it.

In the first set, Pratt was paced Julia Kubak and her five kills. Teammate Abby Nagy handed out 12 assists to set the tone. For the Panthers, Isis Gonzalez (FR/New York, NY) totaled three kills in the first game. Setter Kaitlyn Pillig (SO/Mamaroneck, NY) added four assists. Gonzalez also contributed five digs

In the second set, the rallies continued. The set was tied 4-4 and 7-7 early. It was then tied 8-8 and 12-12 before Pratt reeled off two more points, prompting a Panther timeout.

With the score 20-14, Pratt won five of the next seven points en route to taking a 2-0 lead. The visitors had a more balanced attack in the middle set with three players (Charlotte Burch, Patricia Morales and Rachel Goatley) recording two kills apiece. Kubak and Nagy added three digs each in the set.

The offensive leader for the Panthers in the second set was Pillig. She totaled five of the team's seven, second-set kills. Maura Gribbins (SO/Buffalo, NY) was the leader defensively for the hosts with five digs. She also set six assists, teaming with Pillig for a strong one-two punch.

In the third set, Pratt outlasted Purchase and sealed the win. They took a commanding 11-2 and later 16-2 lead before closing the match. Morales' four third-set kills keyed the win. Deniz Aysay came off the bench and added six assists and three digs in the frame.

Pillig netted two more kills in the third set to lead Purchase.

For the match, the hosts were paced by Pillig (eight kills – share of the match high) and Gribbins (10 assists and seven digs).

Pratt was led offensively by Goatley (eight kills) and defensively by libero Joan Wyeth (seven digs).