ASTON, Pa. – The Widener University women's volleyball team opened play at the Knights Invitational with a pair of tightly contested matches, falling 3-2 to Moravian and 3-1 to NYU on Friday.
 
NOTES VS. MORAVIAN (17-25, 20-25, 25-11, 25-19, 11-15)

• Shelby Motz posted her first career double-double with 11 kills and 11 digs.
• Claire Kaufmann had eight kills, five blocks, and hit .385 for the match.
• Sydney Nichols topped the Pride with 24 assists.
• Trailing 0-2, Widener fought back to tie the match at two sets each thanks to hitting a blistering .307 in combined in the third and fourth sets.

 
NOTES VS. NYU (25-19, 19-25, 16-25, 27-29)

• Motz once again led the Pride with 10 kills.
• Nichols posted 22 assists in the match
• The Pride played good defense in the opening set, forcing NYU into a negative hitting percentage for the set and came up with 11 digs and three blocks.
• After dropping the middle two sets, Widener and NYU played a very close fourth. Neither team led by more than three points the entire way. The Blue and Gold was able to fight off four match points before the final result.

 
UP NEXT
Widener continues play at the Knights Invitational tomorrow, taking on Catholic at 11:00 a.m. and Haverford at 3:00 p.m.