CHESTER, Pa. - Widener Men's Volleyball hands former 9-0 King's College their first loss of the season as they sweep the Monarchs at home. 

The Pride improve to 5-4 and pick up a win in their first conference game, now sitting at a 1-0 MAC record. 

BY THE NUMBERS 

• Matthew Christ had a star performance for the Pride. He finished with a game-best 14 kills, adding a service ace and three block assists. 

• Josh Matchett again was a superb floor general. He totaled a game high of 30 assists, along with four service aces, two kills, and a solo block. 

• Christian Wannamaker again had a very solid performance. He had eight kills, eight digs, and a huge block to seal the sweep. 

• As a team, the Pride had 17 more kills and five more assists than the Monarchs. 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• Both teams came in strong in the first set, trading kills and playing strong defense. Matthew Christ and Christian Wannamaker would get early kills to keep the game close, but errors would be an early problem for Widener. No team would gather a lead, until a 6-1 run saw King's gain an 8-4 lead. The teams would continue to battle, with Wannamaker continuing his strong play and Ethan Cox getting involved with some kills of his own, getting kills and aces to tie the game a 9 each. Christ's blocks and kills would give the Pride a 4-0 run turning into their first lead of the set, sitting at 13-10. More back and forth action would ensue, but some great Matchett passing would see the Pride up 20-17 late in the set. Wannamaker and Christ would push the game to 24-20, and a kill by Stephen Marquis would win the set for the Pride 25-20. 

• The Pride would start the second set strong, going up 3-1 early. A 4-1 kill led by kills from Cox and Christ would force the Monarchs into a timeout down 7-3. They would come out of it strong, scoring two straight to close the gap at 7-4, but a Matchett kill would end the run. Widener would go on a 4-1 run, led by two Matchett kills, and lead 11-5. Christ and Marquis kills would further push the lead as the Pride took a commanding 15-7 lead. A 9-1 Widener run would find their lead pushed even further, now at 23-9. An error by King's and kill by Wannamaker would finish the set as the Pride would win 25-10. 

• The third set would start more similar to the third, as neither team would gain an early lead. Michael Martino would lead the team with some amazing kills early as the Pride would get a small lead at 10-7, but the Monarchs would respond by tying the game at 10. The teams would again trade blows, with Christ putting on a show with his hitting ability, but King's would pull ahead at 15-13 causing a Pride timeout. Widener would quickly tie the match out of the timeout, with both teams having 16. A Christ and Marquis block would give the Pride the lead late at 19-18. A 4-1 run highlighted by two huge blocks by Wannamaker would have the team thinking of the sweep at 23-19, but two King's service aces would have the Pride reeling up 23-21. A Christ kill and Wannamaker ace would complete 

UP NEXT 

The Pride will play their second match of back-to-back games as they stay home to play the Knights of Neumann tomorrow. First serve is Friday, February 16 at 7:30pm.