READING, Pa. (Sept. 27, 2016) – Freshman Caroline Dangel (Eldersburg, Md.) recorded her second double-double and set career highs for assists and digs as the Widener University volleyball team defeated Alvernia by a 3-1 decision on Tuesday evening at the Physical Education Center. Set scores were 25-16, 23-25, 25-23 and 25-14.
 
Widener (7-9, MAC Commonwealth 2-1) came out with a vengeance and scored the first four and nine of the first 10 points by primarily taking advantage of poor hitting by the Crusaders. Sophomore Natalie Winn (San Marcos, Calif.) later finished two passes from Dangel for points to make it 17-10 and prompt an Alvernia timeout before classmate Janie Kalinock (Ellicott City, Md.) scored the next two points for the Pride on kills. A service error by Laura Wachowicz allowed the visitors to clinch the opening set, which also saw the Pride hit at a blistering .378 clip as a squad.
 
The second set was much closer and featured seven ties between the two schools. Widener found itself leading a close frame by a 23-20 score courtesy of a kill by sophomore Nicole Dorman (East Norriton, Pa.), but the Crusaders came back and scored the next five points to take the set by two two. Wachowicz had a kill and a service ace to spark the run before a Pride attacking error produced the final.
 
In the third set, sophomore Kierston Forney (Manassas, Va.) came out firing and smashed three kills to give Widener a quick 3-1 advantage. Widener then broke out to a 16-10 lead and took control by getting two aces from Kalinock as well as two kills and a block from Dorman during a 5-0 run. The Crusaders made another comeback attempt at the end of the set, but this time the Pride held them off and got a kill from junior Lauren Daly (Springfield, Pa.) to win by a 25-23 score.
 
The Pride carried the momentum they got in the third set into the fourth and nearly led from wire-to-wire. After Alvernia's Abby O'Donnell recorded a service ace on the opening rally, Forney added consecutive kills off of Dangel feeds to push the Pride ahead. Dorman then added kills at both ends of a stretch in which the visitors rattled off seven straight points to move ahead by a 21-11 score, and a smash by Forney on match point clinched the victory.
 
Dangel led the way for Widener by racking up 50 assists and 15 digs, which were both career bests, to go along with three kills and three aces. Forney added a career-high 19 kills, while Dorman had a double-double with 18 kills and 12 digs. Kalinock had a solid all-around effort by contributing nine kills, five digs, three aces and two blocks.
 
Alvernia (5-7, MAC Commonwealth 1-3) was paced by Emily Smith's double-double effort. She finished with 14 kills and 10 digs. O'Donnell notched 35 assists and nine digs, while Wachowicz added six kills, 18 digs and three blocks.
 
Widener returns home to host DeSales on Thursday, Sept. 29 at 7:00 p.m.