CHESTER, Pa. - Widener Women's Volleyball snap a 13-year dry spell against Eastern, taking a 3–1 victory.
The Pride improves to 5-9 on the season and open conference play at 1-0.
BY THE NUMBERS
HOW IT HAPPENED
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The Pride came out firing in the opening set, jumping ahead early behind two service aces from Campbell Chronister and a pair of errors, one forced by the Pride's front line. The Eagles battled back to even the score midway through, and the two sides traded points down the stretch with neither team able to pull away. Trailing 24-22, the Pride held off set point and rallied with a block from Airyn Zimmerman, a kill from Ava Kramer, and some Eagle errors before sealing the set on an Eastern attack error, 27-25, to grab the 1-0 match lead.
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The Eagles responded in the second set with a strong start, forcing several early Widener errors to grab the momentum. The Pride clawed back with a string of points behind Bottino and Chronister, eventually taking a brief 14–11 lead. From there, however, the Eagles closed the frame on a dominant run. The Pride tried but ultimately couldn't recover late, dropping the set 25–17 as the match evened at 1–1.
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Widener regrouped in the third set and came out strong behind back-to-back aces from Chronister to build early momentum. The Pride weathered a mid-set surge from the Eagles, who rallied to tie the score at 19–19, but the Pride held its composure down the stretch. Key kills from Hayley Haxton and Bottino, paired with a block from Bottino and Zimmerman, helped the Pride close on a 6–2 run. Haxton capped the set with a kill to seal a 25–21 victory and put the Pride back in front, 2–1.
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The Pride built on their energy in the fourth set, overcoming an early Eagle lead. Kramer and Bottino provided kills to spark a run, while Zimmerman and Haxton made their presence felt at the net with a timely block. Midway through the frame, Prior took control, factoring into five straight points to push the Pride ahead 19–13. From there, the Pride never looked back, closing out the match with a dominant 6–1 run highlighted by two service aces from Kramer. A late Eagle error sealed the 25–17 win, giving the Pride a 3–1 victory and their first triumph over the Eagles since 2007.
UP NEXT
The Pride return home on Tuesday, September 30, as they take on Alvernia. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
