ST. DAVIDS, Pa. – The Pride faced off against the Eastern University Eagles on Wednesday in a back-and-forth affair. However, the Eagles won three of five sets.

Widener is 11-12 in the regular season, and they are 1-6 against MAC opponents.

HOW IT HAPPENED AGAINST EASTERN
Josh Matchett had a career-high 25 kills. Benjamin Heist had a career-high 47 assists. The team's hitting percentage was .230.

Both sides produced good offense early on, with Widener jumping out to a 7-4 lead. The Eagles responded with four straight points to take the lead back. The two teams took turns getting points, as neither wanted the other to get too far ahead. The Pride earned points in that stretch from kills by Matchett and Nick Poulson, as well as some Eastern errors. Down 21-18, Widener used a 6-1 run to make the score 24-22. The Pride's final two points of the set were a Poulson kill and an Eagles' setting error. Widener took the first set 27-25.

Widener attacked early and often in the second set. They went up 4-1 because of multiple Eastern errors and a Matthew Christ kill. The Eagles would go on to tie the set 7-7. Widener earned a few points back on kills, and they led 12-10. Slowly, however, the Eagles began to inch closer to victory. Eastern would take a one-point lead before Widener tied it back up again. A 6-2 push would end the set for the Pride. The final point for Widener was on a Christ kill. Eastern claimed the second set 25-21.

Following a close second set, the Pride exploded in the third. A Heist service error gave the Eagles their first point, but Widener ripped off eight straight points to go up 8-1. Matchett recorded two service aces in that run. Although the Eagles fought back, the Pride kept them at a distance. Down 16-8, though, Eastern came all the way back on a 9-0 outburst to regain the lead 17-16. The Pride did not give up. Only trailing 21-20, they scored the final five points to win the set. Four of those five points were Matchett kills. The third set was won by Widener, 25-21.

Widener began the fourth set on a 6-1 run. Michael Martino's fingerprints were all over this stretch, as he recorded three kills. Although Eastern's offense eventually warmed up, the Pride had a 12-9 advantage. The Pride once again struggled to hold the lead, though, as the Eagles were able to take a 13-12 lead. That was part of an 8-2 stretch by the home team. The Pride answered with six consecutive points, partially due to three attack errors by Eastern. Like the first set, this one went to "overtime" to determine a winner. Tied at 25, Eastern pounced at the opportunity to claim the set. The home team logged two straight aces as their final points. The Eagles won 28-26 in the fourth set. One more set would decide the match's winner.

A Matchett kill started the scoring for either side in the fifth set. No one was able to take a significant lead, and the set would be tied 7-7. Down by four points, the Pride used a 4-0 run to tie things up at 13. Two Matchett kills were in that run. However, the Eagles would win the set 15-13 after scoring the final two points. Eastern won a hard-fought match, winning three sets to two.

UP NEXT
The Pride's regular-season finale is on Saturday, April 1. They will be in Dallas, Pa. for a MAC tri-match. Widener will play King's (Pa.) at 2 p.m., and they will see Misericordia at 4 p.m.