CHESTER, Pa. (Oct. 5, 2016) – The Widener University volleyball team put up a strong fight but eventually fell to Stevenson by a 3-0 decision on Wednesday evening at the Schwartz Center. Set scores were 16-25, 18-25 and 24-26.
 
Stevenson came out firing on all cylinders at the beginning and built up a 4-0 advantage by most notably getting two straight kills from Kristen Brooks and an ace from Annika Schwartz. Widener fought back and tied the set up at 10s courtesy of an ace by senior captain Sabrina Barbieri (Glen Mills, Pa.), but the Mustangs recovered by scoring the next three points and never trailed. After Chelsea Ireland and Lauren Weaver teamed up for a block to make it 18-15 and force the Pride to call a timeout, the visitors scored seven of the next eight points to close out the set.
 
The Pride challenged the Mustangs in the second set as well. A nip-and-tuck affair was highlighted by seven ties over the first 14 rallies before a Pride service error sparked a small three-point swing for the visitors. Widener answered with three straight, beginning with a kill by sophomore Janie Kalinock (Ellicott City, Md.) to knot things up at 10, but the Mustangs once again would not surrender the lead. Even though a block by junior Lauren Daly (Springfield, Pa.) and Barbieri brought the Pride within one again at 16-15, the Mustangs would answer with four straight points and did not look back the rest of the way.
 
Widener continued to show improvement and had the Mustangs on the ropes in the third set. After falling behind by three points on two occasions, the Pride took advantage of several service errors and other mistakes by Stevenson to rally. The hosts found themselves leading 14-10 and then 18-14 on a service ace by sophomore Nicole Dorman (East Norriton, Pa.) to establish control, and a smash by classmate Kierston Forney (Manassas, Va.) gave Widener its biggest lead at 21-16.
 
Stevenson, however, stormed back and avoided dropping the set by closing out on a 10-3 run. Barbieri set up Dorman for a kill to tie the set at 24-all, but a kill by Annika Schwartz followed by a Pride attacking error allowed the Mustangs to escape with the set victory and win the match.
 
Schwartz finished with 12 kills and 11 digs to lead the way for Stevenson (16-7, MAC Commonwealth 5-0), which has yet to lose to a conference opponent since joining the league in 2012. Sara Bollinger had 20 assists and six digs, while Chelsea Ireland concluded the match with four kills and a team-leading four blocks.
 
Widener (8-13, MAC Commonwealth 2-2) was paced by Barbieri, Dorman and Kalinock. Barbieri registered 20 assists and seven digs, while Dorman contributed seven digs and led the team with 10 kills and three aces. Kalinock notched six kills and hit at a .357 clip, and freshman Caroline Dangel (Eldersburg, Md.) ended the evening with nine digs and an ace.
 
The Pride will remain at home to host a tri-match against Kentucky Christian and Lancaster Bible on Saturday, Oct. 8 beginning at 10:00 a.m.