OWINGS MILLS, Md. (Nov. 2, 2016) - After recording a postseason victory on its home floor for the second straight season, the Widener University volleyball team fell to top-seeded Stevenson by a 3-0 decision in the semifinal round of the Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth Tournament at the Owings Mills Gymnasium on Wednesday evening. Set scores were 25-18, 25-13 and 25-17.
 
The Mustangs, who have not lost to a MAC Commonwealth opponent since joining the league in 2012, improved to 25-7 overall and earned the right to host the championship match on Saturday. Widener ended its 2016 campaign with a 13-18 ledger.

Widener came out strong in the first set, as sophomore Janie Kalinock (Elliott City, Md.) and senior Kristin DeCicco (Sewell, N.J.) teamed up for a block to give the visitors an early 2-0 advantage. The Mustangs fought back and built up leads of 6-3 and 9-6, but the Pride would not be phased and rallied to regain the lead. DeCicco and sophomore Nicole Dorman (East Norriton, Pa.) smashed consecutive kills to give Widener a 14-12 lead and force the hosts to take a timeout.
 
The Mustangs, however, came out strong out of the break. A kill by Lauren Weaver broke a 15-all tie and sparked a 6-0 run, and an ace by Deanna Bradbury followed by a block coming from Kelsey Stave and Kristin Brooks gave Stevenson a 25-18 set win.
 
Widener took another early lead in the second set and went ahead by a 4-2 score on a service ace by Kalinock. But Stevenson once again recovered from the deficit and used a stretch of scoring five unanswered points to move ahead at 11-7 and establish control. Even though the Pride came within two when DeCicco and Kalinock teamed up for another block, the hosts would stay hot and cap a 14-3 run on a kill by Moriah Savage which made it 20-10. Julie Nightwine later ended the frame with a service ace.
 
Stevenson led from wire-to-wire in the third and final set and jumped ahead by a 10-4 score on an ace by Annika Schwartz. The margin grew to 21-13 on a Victoria Prokic smash, and the Mustangs benefited from two straight Pride attacking errors to come away with the victory and advance to the championship match of the MAC Commonwealth Tournament for the fifth straight season.

Stevenson was led by Schwartz's double-double effort. She registered 12 kills and 12 digs. Weaver contributed nine kills, while Prokic ended the evening with seven kills and four blocks. Kristen Brooks had a match-high 16 digs.
 
Senior Sabrina Barbieri (Glen Mills, Pa.) recorded 25 assists and seven digs for the Pride. She also concluded her career ranked third in the program annals with 3,609 assists as a four-year starter. Classmate Lauren Elliott (Aston, Pa.) notched 15 digs and ended her career with 1,271, which ranks seventh all-time in program history. Dorman added eight kills, and Kalinock had four blocks.
 
Widener, which made its third straight appearance in the league's postseason tournament, is slated to return 11 letterwinners next season.