CHESTER, Pa. – The Widener University volleyball team dropped a 3-1 decision to Hood on Tuesday, Sept. 29 at the Schwartz Center. Set scores were 25-19, 22-25, 25-23 and 27-25.
 
Widener started the first set on a roll by scoring the first two and five of the first six points, which was capped by a service ace by freshman Natalie Winn (San Marcos, Calif.). An attacking error by Courtney Hutchinson gave the Pride a commanding 13-6 advantage, but the Blazers answered by rattling off 10 unanswered and never looked back. A service error by the Pride ended the set and gave Hood the early lead.
 
After giving up a good lead and dropping the first set, Widener came out on fire in the second frame and never trailed en route to a 25-22 win. A kill by Winn that was set up by junior Sabrina Barbieri (Glen Mills, Pa.) followed by two Hood attacking errors swung the pendulum the way of the Pride. Hood came back to tie it at 14s on a Payton Belella service ace, but the hosts recovered and scored the next four to pull away. A kill from freshman Kelsey Lee (Chesapeake, Va.) evened up the score between the teams.
 
The next two sets were back-and-forth battles that were decided by a mere two points. With nine ties and five lead changes in the third frame, Hood gained back the momentum when Kari Betson returned a Lee serve for the match point.
 
Widener, however, did not back down and most notably embarked on an 8-2 run to take a 13-8 lead in another set that proved to be a seesaw battle between the schools. Barbieri set up Winn and Lee for a combined five kills to spark the hot stretch for the hosts before Hood responded and went up 24-20 on a Betson ace.
 
With their backs against the wall, the Pride did not go down without a fight and were able to extend the match by getting two straight kills from Winn after the freshman combined for a block with freshman Janie Kalinock (Ellicott City, Md.). But with the score knotted at 24s, Hood recovered and ended the set and the match by getting a kill from Elena Young off a feed from Belella which made it 27-25.
 
Betson led the way for Hood (8-7, MACC 2-2) by recording a double-double with 15 kills and 10 digs. Kathryn Jones and Brenna Elizondo finished with 16 digs apiece, while Belella had 42 helpers.
 
Widener was paced by freshman Nicole Dorman (East Norriton, Pa.) and Winn in the setback. Dorman registered a double-double with 11 kills and 12 digs, and Winn had 14 kills. Barbieri finished with 40 assists and Kalinock had six blocks.
 
Widener (9-7, MACC 1-2) will regroup and return to action in the Schwartz Center when it entertains Cabrini on Thursday, Oct. 1 at 7:00 p.m.