DALLAS, Pa. – The Widener University men's volleyball team gave the Misericordia Cougars all they could handle, but the Pride was upended in a MAC contest 3-0 on Tuesday night.
 
HIGHLIGHTS
Wil Cacciatore led the Pride with nine kills on the evening and a .160 hitting percentage.
Widener set a team best in blocks in the match with nine. Included in that total were six block assists by Matt Blaum.
Billy Barclay led the Blue and Gold with 16 assists and Dave Lehmann topped the squad with five digs.
 
FIRST SET NOTES (27-29)

• Trailing 10-6 early, the Pride ripped off five of the next six points to knot the score at 11-11.
• The rest of the way neither team held more than a two point lead in the set.
• With Misericordia up 16-14, Widener scored four straight to jump on top 18-16. Undaunted, the Cougars ripped off three in a row to take a 19-18 edge.
• From there, the Blue and Gold seemed to take control of the set, scoring six of eight points to move up 24-21. MU fought off three set points and then battled back three times from a point down in extra time before claiming a 29-27 win.
• As a team, Widener had five blocks in the opening set, four of them from Blaum and three from Johnson.
• Cacciatore led the Pride with four kills in the frame.

 
SECOND SET NOTES (11-25)

• An early 5-0 run by Misericordia put Widener in a quick 7-2 deficit. The Cougars methodically extended the lead throughout the stanza to pull away for the win.
• A.J. Sungenis led the Blue and Gold with two kills.

 
THIRD SET NOTES (17-25)

• Much like the first set, the third was a tight battle throughout. The Cougars led for the majority of the first half of the frame before a 5-1 run by the Pride put Widener on top 16-13.
• Misericordia responded and went up 24-22. This time, Widener answered, fighting off two set points to force extras where they were able to stave off one more, before the Cougars closed the set.
• Cacciatore had four kills and two blocks in the frame.
• The Blue and Gold hit .182 for the set, its best of the match.

 
UP NEXT
The Pride returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 24 when it travels to Grantham, Pa. to face off against Messiah in a MAC match. Opening serve from Jordan Court at Hitchcock Arena is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.