BRONX, N.Y. – After a tough tri-match loss on Thursday in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., the Pride took care of business against the Lehman College Lightning and the Saint Elizabeth University Eagles. Both matches were 3-0 decisions.

The Pride are 8-6 in the regular season and 0-2 in the MAC.

HOW IT HAPPENED AGAINST LEHMAN
Dylan Beer and Michael Martino combined for 21 Widener kills. The Pride registered 41 kills on 76 total attacks, and they had a .355 hitting percentage.

The Pride earned their first points of the day with two errors committed by the Lightning. Widener was able to gain an early lead on multiple kills, with one each from Beer, Martino, and Matthew Christ. As the score was 7-5 Widener, the Pride ripped off a 5-1 run to increase the lead to 12-6. However, after a promising start, the Lightning used a 7-1 run to tie the set at 13. Widener did not give up, though. The offense roared back to life with three more kills and an ace from Kevin Stubbs. Widener did not let up on offense and were inching closer to victory. A final 4-2 push was the deciding factor. The last point of the set was on a kill from Christ. The Pride took the first set 25-21.

Widener began the second set with a 5-1 outburst, courtesy of multiple errors from Lehman. As the Lightning scored three in a row, and were attempting to even the score, a kill from Christ halted their efforts. The score was 6-4 Widener. Later in the set, Benjamin Heist's service ace made the score 11-8. With Lehman still looking to jump ahead of the Pride, Widener used an 11-3 run to end the set with domination. The Lightning never led in the second set, but they got to within one point a few times. Widener won with the score at 25-16. This gave them a 2-0 advantage in the match.

In the final set, the Pride got on the board first with a Lehman attack error. The Lightning, wanting to avoid the sweep, took an early 5-3 lead from some Widener errors. Down by two, the Pride scored three consecutive points on three kills to regain the lead. The third set was a back-and-forth affair, as both teams wrestled the lead from one another. With the score at 14-10 Lehman, Widener went on a 6-2 run to tie the set at 16-16. Looking to snap their four-match losing streak, the Pride strung together a strong offensive push to end the set on a 9-1 run. The first eight points were consecutive. The Pride walked away victorious in the final set 25-17. Widener had swept their first match on the day.

HOW IT HAPPENED AGAINST SAINT ELIZABETH
Christ and Josh Matchett were the Pride's co-leaders in kills, with each recording nine. The Pride had 31 kills on 68 attacks. Heist had 18 assists for Widener. The Pride added six blocks.
The Pride opened the first set of their second match with a 4-1 lead, including two kills from Christ. They would go up as much as 8-2 before the Eagles called timeout. Out of the timeout, Saint Elizabeth began stringing together successful offense. The Pride, however, kept their offense moving as well. The score was 12-8 Widener after an Eagles' service error. While Saint Elizabeth got the score to within two points, Widener built the lead back up to 19-14 on Matchett and Christ kills and a Nick Poulson service ace. A Beer kill was the final Widener point of the set. The Pride won the first set 25-20.

Widener started the second set with a kill by Heist. Things were close early before the Eagles scored four straight, which gave them an 8-4 lead. Widener answered back and tied the score at nine. Even though neither team wanted the other to get too far ahead, Widener finally broke through for a 5-0 run to lead 18-13. The Pride played through the remainder of the set with their lead comfortably in hand, as the Eagles made no real push to cut into the deficit. A kill by Matchett finished the set, giving Widener another 25-20 victory. They led two sets to zero.

In the final set, Christ got the Pride in the scoring column first with a kill. Although the Eagles went up 3-1, the Pride scored seven unanswered points, forcing a Saint Elizabeth timeout. Widener picked up three more points a few moments later from three Eagles' errors. The Eagles' defense began to tighten, but the Pride's offense was too much for them. Widener ended the set on a 6-1 run, with Christ and Poulson adding one kill each. Saint Elizabeth committed a service error on the final rally. Widener took the final set 25-12. They had swept both matches in the tri-match.

UP NEXT
Following two straight road tri-matches, the Pride are back home on Tuesday, February 14. They will face the Wilson College Phoenixes. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.