ANNVILLE, Pa. (Sept. 7, 2016) – Sophomore
Nicole Dorman (East Norriton, Pa.) recorded her 11th career double-double, but it was not enough as the Widener University volleyball team dropped a marathon match by a 3-2 decision on Wednesday evening in the Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth opener for both schools. Set scores of the seesaw affair were 18-25, 25-14, 13-25, 25-20 and 10-15.
Widener found itself trailing 2-1 through three sets before rallying once again in a fourth frame which featured 13 ties and seven lead changes. Despite trailing in the beginning, the Pride scored four straight points and went ahead 5-4 on a solo block by
Kelsey Lee (Chesapeake, Va.) to start gaining momentum. After falling behind by an 18-17 score, the visitors finished strong by scoring eight of the next 10 points. Freshman
Caroline Dangel (Eldersburg, Md.) recorded a service ace to give the Pride the lead for good and then set up sophomore
Natalie Winn (San Marcos, Calif.) and Dorman for consecutive kills to even things out and force a decisive fifth set.
The Pride held early leads of 2-1 and 3-2 in the final frame courtesy of kills by sophomore
Janie Kalinock (Ellicott City, Md.) and Dorman, but the Dutchwomen answered with an 8-2 run to regain control with a 10-5 advantage. The deficit would prove to be too much for the visitors to overcome, as the Dutchwomen held on to give head coach Wayne Perry his 600th career win.
Dorman paced Widener (2-3, MAC Commonwealth 0-1) by notching a double-double with 10 kills and 12 digs. She also led the team with four service aces and two blocks. Kalinock had a team-leading 13 kills, while senior captain
Sabrina Barbieri (Glen Mills, Pa.) added 25 assists and classmate
Lauren Elliott (Aston, Pa.) finished with 14 digs.
Lebanon Valley (2-3, MAC Commonwealth 1-0) was led by Greta Wiedemoyer, who recorded a triple-double with 16 kills, 25 assists and 13 digs. Melanie Phifer notched 18 digs and Jess Attieh contributed 10 kills.
Widener will regroup and be back in action when it hosts Swarthmore for its home opener on Tuesday, Sept. 13 at 7:00 p.m.
