Moon Township, Pa. ? Despite the support of a packed crowd in the Robert Morris Sewall Center Arena, the Colonials, led by sixth year head coach Rob Thomas, were unable to overcome the Pittsburgh Panther squad, falling 0-3 to the cross-town rival on Tuesday night.

Freshman setter Alyssa Bennett (Ramona Calif. / Ramona) started things off for the Colonials, earning the first kill of the set.  Pitt returned the kill with one of their own to tie the score at 1-1 and the Colonials answered back yet again off a kill from Charla Drabant (Wheaton, Ill. / Wheaton North). The Panthers led the rest of the first set, but the Colonials never disappeared staying within one or two of Pitt for the entire set.

Senior outside hitter Emily Wolthuis (Byron Center, Mich. / South Christian)  put down a team high four kills in the first set. The Colonials were relatively even with the Panthers earning 12 kills to Pitt's 15, but Pitt gained the advantage with their solid block to earn the 25-20 victory.

In set two, Pitt got the first kill, but Robert Morris quickly gained momentum and went on a eight point run off of Bennett's serve. Wolthuis started the run with a powerful shot down the line. A couple more kills by Wolthuis, a pair of aces by Bennett and several errors by Pitt gave Robert Morris a 12-5 lead. After a time-out called by Panther coach Toby Rens, Pitt answered back with a seven point run of their own. They continued to dominate the rest of the set and took set two 25-18.

Junior outside hitter Jessy Nelko (Aliquippa, Pa. / Hopewell) entered set three and gave the Colonials a boost with four kills, while Wolthuis's play continued to shine as she earned four kills of her own. The Colonials did not let the Panther's off with a win very easily, as their defense left the Panther's frustrated in many instances.  Unfortunately, Pitt finally ended things 25-16 to earn the match win.

The Colonials out dug the Panthers 60 to 58, but Pitt made up with it with their blocking abilities, earning nine blocks to Robert Morris's three.

Wolthuis finished the match with her third double-double of the season, earning 10 kills and 12 digs. The trio of Alaina Gibson (Muncie, Ind. / Muncie Burris), Bennett and senior Cassie Lee (Vista, Calif. / Vista) each put up double-digit digs as well, earning 12, 11 and 10 digs , respectively. Bennett also led the team with a .375 hitting average, while Lee led the team in blocks with two. Sophomore Amanda Graham (Melbourne, Fla. / Eau Gallie) finished the match with five kills, three digs and on block and Nelko ended with four kills on .300 hitting.

The Panthers were led by Kelly Campbell, who grabbed 16 kills , seven digs and five blocks in the win. Nicole Taurence led the team in hitting percentage with a .625 average, 30 assists and 15 digs.

The Colonials now own an 8-4 record and will travel to Ithaca, N.Y. to face Cornell, Columbia and Binghamton on Saturday, Sept. 27 and Sunday, Sept. 28.