CHESTER, Pa. – Playing against the preseason favorite in the CSAC, the Widener University men's volleyball team took charge early and held on late, winning a five-set thriller against the Cairn Highlanders on Wednesday night.
 
MATCH NOTES (25-22, 25-20, 20-25, 12-25, 15-5)

• In his collegiate debut, Ian Devore led the Pride with 11 kills.
• Fellow Freshman Cole Nagle added nine with Wil Cacciatore posting seven.
• Josh Matchett was the primary distributor, accounting for 29 assists.
• Connor Johnson had nine digs and Nagle recorded two blocks, leading the defense.
• Matt Blaum topped the service game with three aces.
• The Pride had three sets hitting better than .300 including a blistering .438 in the fifth frame.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED
In the first set, Widener trailed 16-13 before going on a 6-2 run, opening a 19-18 lead, forcing a timeout from the Highlanders. The Blue and Gold pushed the edge to 22-19 before closing out the set. WU once again trailed in the second, going down 11-7 early before a 10-3 spurt gave the Pride a lead it would not relinquish, on its way to a 25-20 win.

The Blue and Gold took the early lead in the third only to see the Highlanders rally to win the set and force a fourth frame. In that set, Cairn did not let off the gas, racing away with a 25-12 victory. Widener came out hot in the fifth, going up 8-3 and never looked back, hitting a crisp .438 in the stanza.
 
UP NEXT
Widener is off until January 30 when it hosts Rosemont. Opening serve from the Schwartz Center is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.