CHESTER, Pa. (Nov. 2, 2015) – Freshman Nicole Dorman (East Norriton, Pa.) registered her ninth double-double as the Widener University volleyball team swept Hood in the play-in game of the Middle Atlantic Conference Comonwealth Tournament on Monday evening at the Schwartz Center. The Pride avenged a home loss to the Blazers earlier this season and won by set scores of 25-16, 25-14 and 25-20.
 
Widener improved to 15-15 overall and advanced to the semifinal round of the conference tournament. Hood ended its record-breaking 2015 campaign with an overall ledger of 20-14.
 
The hosts got started quickly and burst out to a 6-1 advantage. Dorman had three kills and freshman Kelsey Lee (Chesapeake, Va.) and Sabrina Barbieri (Glen Mills, Pa.) each registered an ace during the early stretch. Hood attempted to slice away at the deficit and came within two, but the Pride responded and stormed ahead by eight at 20-12 when Barbieri set up freshman Janie Kalinock (Ellicott City, Md.) and classmate Kierston Forney (Manassas, Va.) for kills. A bad set by Hood's Payton Belella ended the frame in the Pride's favor.
 
Despite sacrificing a point for being out of rotation in the early going, Hood took a 5-3 lead in the second set on an ace by Brenna Elizondo. Widener, however, shook off the slow start and responded with seven unanswered points to go ahead 10-5. Lee had block assists on consecutive plays with freshman Natalie Winn (San Marcos, Calif.) and Forney to allow the Pride to surge ahead for good. A service ace by Audrey Rucker (Coatesville, Pa.) followed by a Lee kill gave the hosts a lopsided 11-point win in the second set and more momentum moving forward.
 
The third set was a seesaw battle at first with the teams exchanging three leads and playing to nine ties. But with the score knotted at 15s, Winn took over and sparked a 5-0 run by registering a kill to break the deadlock followed by two service aces. Dorman added three more kills, and Forney finished a pass from Barbieri on match point to allow the Pride to advance to the second round.
 
Dorman led a balanced attack and finished with 12 kills and 12 digs for Widener, which was hosting a postseason match for the third time in its program history and first since 2012. Forney added 12 kills and five digs, while Kalinock had 10 kills and hit at a .692 clip by committing only one error. Barbieri finished with a game-high 38 assists, and junior Lauren Elliott (Aston, Pa.) had eight digs and a team-leading three aces. Widener also recorded a .366 hitting percentage at a team, which was its third-highest total this season and best against a MAC Commonwealth opponent.
 
Hood was led by Elena Young in the losing effort, as the freshman posted 10 kills and only had one error on 24 attempts. Caroline Kinna finished with 10 digs, and Payton Belella recorded 26 assists and two aces.
 
The Pride will next travel to top-seeded Stevenson to face the host Mustangs in a MAC Commonwealth semifinal match on Wednesday, Nov. 4 at 7:00 p.m.