MECHANICSBURG, Pa. - The Widener University women's volleyball team pulled out a big MAC Commonwealth win over Messiah on Wednesday night, as it beat the Falcons, 25-19, 25-21, 22-25, 26-24, on the road.
The Pride's victory was the first one against the Falcons since Sept. 24, 2008, when they swept Messiah. More importantly, the Pride improved to 3-2 in MAC Commonwealth play and moved into a tie for third place in the conference with Messiah.
The Blue and Gold (8-10) have won eight of their last 10 matches since an 0-8 start.
HOW IT HAPPENED AGAINST MESSIAH
- The Pride won the first set in convincing fashion, breaking a 15-all tie by winning 10 of the set's last 14 points. The Pride scored six points in a row during that stretch, three of which were by assisted blocks by Abigail Herrin, Alex Verchio, and Isabella Ricevuto.
- In the second set, the Pride held a 13-12 lead before putting together a 6-0 run to take a 19-12 lead that helped them eventually pull away from the Falcons win.
- After Messiah won the third set, the Blue and Gold rallied in the fourth set to win the match by breaking a 24-all tie by scoring on a service error and receiving the game-winning kill by Isabella Ricevuto off an assist from Megan Barthol.
- Barthol stood out for the Pride on both the offensive and defensive end, posting a double-double of 36 assists and 24 digs. The junior setter's 36 assists allowed her to become the ninth player in program history to surpass 1,000 career assists,
- Herrin led the Pride with 11 kills. The sophomore outside hitter also made an impact on the defensive line, making a match-high five blocks.
- Lilyanna Martucci filled up the stat sheet as well, as she added 10 kills, made 14 digs, and had a match-high four aces. The junior outside hitter ranks 10th in the MAC Commonwealth in kills with 153.
- Rachel DiCarlo, Verchio, and Emily Miller also played well defensively. DiCarlo made 16 digs while Verchio and Miller had three blocks apiece.
UP NEXT
Widener will host a tri-match on Saturday with Stockton and U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. The Pride will face Stockton at noon, then will take on Merchant Marine at 4 p.m.
