CHESTER, Pa. - Widener Men's Volleyball takes their first loss at home since early February, as the Arcadia Knights down the Pride in three sets. 

The Pride fall to 8-6 on the season and 1-2 in conference play. 

BY THE NUMBERS 

• Michael Martino had a strong game performance despite the loss. He led the team with eight kills and added two block assists. 

• Josh Matchett had a solid night of passing. He finished with 23 assists along with two kills and a solo block. 

• Matthew Christ had a solid performance as usual. He totaled six kills in the game and had a block assist. 

• The Pride were able to cut down on service errors in this game, a problem in the past. They only had seven to the Knight's 16. 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• The teams started with strong performances from both, as the game remained within one for most of the first set. Tied at 9, Arcadia's 2-0 run would give them the first real lead at 11-9. Arcadia was able to push the lead to 15-11 due to some untimely Pride errors. Arcadia would score seven of the next nine points as the margin of their lead climbed further and the Pride fell 22-13. Widener would ultimately lose the set 16-25. 

• The Pride and Knights battle again early, as the score sat tied at 5. The Pride's blocks saw them score two in a row, but a 4-0 Arcadia run would regain the lead at 7-9. Widener would tie the game up highlighted by a Kevin Stubbs kill as the game was deadlocked again at 10. Ethan Cox and Christ would have some strong hits, but Widener would find themselves down 12-17. A 7-1 run against the Pride would have them in a tough position, down 13-24. Widener would score four straight led by Matchett's blocks and Christ's kills to close the gap, but an Arcadia kill would take the set as the Pride fall 17-25. 

• The Pride seemed to be losing steam in the third set, as they started down 1-4. A 3-0 run led by Michael Martino and Stephen Marquis would bring Widener back, but Arcadia would quickly score three and take the lead again at 4-7. Martino would explode for two huge kills as the Pride would tighten the game at 7-9, and Nick Poulson and Christian Wannamaker kills would see Widener down only 9-10. A Marquis kill and Christ block would have the Pride climb back and tie the game again at 11. The Knights would respond with two straight scores however and the teams began trading points. Later in the set, tied at 18, a 2-0 Knight run would take the first major lead in the stretch, as Widener was down 18-20. A 2-0 run led by Christ would tie the game again at 20, and the teams again would trade blows in an attempt to win the crucial set. Widener would shoot themselves with errors, but a Martino kill would keep the Pride fighting at 23-24. A Knight kill however would seal the game, as the Pride would fall 23-25. 

UP NEXT 

The Pride will have a busy Saturday as they travel to St. Davids, Pa to participate in an Eastern hosted tri-match. They will play Randolph Macon and a conference opponent in Eastern. Game times are on Saturday, March 9 at 2pm and 4pm respectively.