CHESTER, Pa. - Widener Women's Volleyball teases the upset alert before being defeated in five sets by Rutgers Camden.
The Pride drop to 0-4 on the season and remain 0-0 in conference play.
BY THE NUMBERS
HOW IT HAPPENED
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The Pride came out strong in the opening set, using early kills from Ava Kramer and Airyn Zimmerman to jump ahead 9–3. The Pride kept their momentum with steady setting from Meghan Prior, who helped push the lead to 13–8 after a key kill from Kristen Vacca. From there, the Pride took control as Bottino, Mira Canali, and Prior delivered back-to-back-to-back kills, extending the advantage to 21–12. Kramer later added a clutch service ace to bring the Pride to set point, and a Scarlet Raptors service error sealed a 25–16 first-set win for the Pride.
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The Pride stayed hot in the second set, with Azira Benjamin and Zimmerman providing early kills to keep the Pride in front. Prior and Bottino added momentum with a string of points that pushed the lead to 6–3, and Bottino later delivered a service ace to make it 12–9. The Scarlet Raptors battled back, but the Pride's attack proved too steady as Bottino, Vacca, and Chronister fueled a late surge to 21–17. Kramer added a key kill to set up match point, and Bottino finished it off with her fifth kill of the frame, securing a 25–19 win and a 2–0 lead in the match.
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The Scarlet Raptors gained the upper hand in the third set, capitalizing on early Pride errors to build a quick lead. The Pride fought to stay within reach as Kramer delivered a service ace, and Hayley Haxton, along with Zimmerman, added kills to close the gap to 14-12. Despite the push, the Scarlet Raptors pulled away late with a series of points that the Pride could not answer, taking the set 25–14 to cut the Pride's match lead in half.
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The Pride started strong in the fourth set, fueled by an impressive serving stretch from Bottino, who tallied four aces as they raced out to an 8–2 lead. The momentum continued with kills from Kramer, Benjamin, Canali, Bottino, and Haxton keeping the Pride in control at 21–11. The Scarlet Raptors, however, rallied late with a chain of aces and timely kills to erase the deficit and edge the Pride, 25–23, to even the match at two sets apiece.
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The Scarlet Raptors controlled the fifth set from the start, jumping out to a 6–0 lead before Zimmerman and Benjamin put down kills to get the Pride on the board. The Pride worked to slow the momentum with a contribution from Kaitlyn Guessford, but the Scarlet Raptors remained in rhythm and closed out the frame 15–3, handing the Pride a 3–2 defeat.
UP NEXT
The Pride will face Cedar Crest on Friday, September 5, during their opening match at the Knights Invitational held at Neumann University. The match is set to begin at 3 p.m.
