ASTON, Pa. - Widener Women's Volleyball breezes past the Bears of Ursinus, beating them 3-1 in the first matchup of the Knights Invitational. 

The Pride improve to 4-4 and remain 0-0 in conference play. 

BY THE NUMBERS 

• Abigail Herrin and Lilyanna Martucci had great hitting performances, totaling 15 kills each. 

• Campbell Chronister shined with her passing, racking up 44 assists on the day. 

• Liz Barnes had a good day receiving, ending with a team best 13 digs. 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• The first set would be a battle, with both teams trading points and Abigail Herrin establishing her hitting early. Neither team could manage a big lead, and the score was tied at 17 late in the set. Widener would explode for a 6-1 run highlighted by two Martucci kills to take a 23-18 lead, and a Kristen Vacca kill along with a Bear error would see the Pride take the first set 25-19. 

• The second set would see an early 8-2 Widener run to gain an 8-4 lead assisted by Azira Benjamin's back-to-back service aces. The teams would start trading points until Herrin's two kills would spark a 6-1 run and give the Pride a 21-13 lead. A late Ursinus run would make the set more competitive, but a Chronister to Shannon Toomey kill would end the set 25-19 for Widener. 

• The Bears would start strong in the third by scoring the first five points of the set, but Martucci's two kills would help close the lead at 6-7. Ursinus would go on multiple big runs to take a 10-21 lead, but the Pride would score six of the next seven points to close the gap at 17-23. Unfortunately, a Bear kill and ace would sink the Pride 17-25. 

• Azira Benjamin kicked off the fourth set with a bang for Widener, getting a kill and two service aces to vault the team to a 5-0 lead to start. Ursinus would fight back, and a 1-7 run later in the set would see Widener down 9-11. The Bears would hold the lead for a while, but Vacca and Herrin's hitting would lead the Pride to a 8-2 to take a 21-19 lead late in the set. Ursinus would fight to take the late lead at 23-24, but three straight Pride scores would see them take the nail-biter set along with the match with a 26-24 win. 

UP NEXT 

The Pride will rest up before finishing their tournament weekend with a double header tomorrow against Cedar Crest and Desales. Those games are set for Saturday, September 14th at 12pm and 2pm respectively.