CHESTER, Pa. – History was made on Saturday afternoon as the Widener University men's volleyball team played its first ever home match in front of more than 250 fans at the Schwartz Center. The Pride was upended by the Alvernia Golden Wolves 3-0.
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• Widener was led in the match by A. J. Sungenis and Wil Cacciatore who had eight kills each. Cacciatore also posted a .238 hitting percentage including a .429 mark in the final two sets.
• Billy Barclay topped the team with 20 assists.
• Dave Lehmann dug out six balls for the Pride while Connor Johnson had five.

 
FIRST SET NOTES (12-25)

• Sungenis got off to a good start with thee kills and a .333 hitting percentage in the opening set.
• Down 10-3 early, the Pride ripped off five of the next six points, the last coming on a Matt Blaum service ace to chop the lead to 11-8.
• Alvernia recovered and went on a 7-1 run to take an 18-9 lead before closing the set.

 
SECOND SET NOTES (14-25)

• A highly competitive set early, the teams traded points as Widener went up 4-2 on a kill by Cacciatore off a feed from Barclay.
• The Blue and Gold kept itself in the set and trailed 10-9 before the Golden Wolves scored 10 in a row.
• Cacciatore had four kills against just one error in seven attack attempts in the frame.
• Sungenis chipped in with three more kills.

 
THIRD SET NOTES (18-25)

• Alvernia took a quick 5-3 lead, but Widener battled back to score four in a row, two of them on aces from Sungenis.
• Trailing late in the set, the raucous crowd helped the Pride stave off four match points, keyed by kills from Cacciatore and Kyle Minder.
• Minder had two kills in the set for the Blue and Gold.

 
UP NEXT
Widener returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 14 when it hosts Rutgers-Newark in a non-conference match. Opening serve is set for 7:00 p.m.