YORK, Pa. – The York College women's volleyball team dropped a tough 3-1 decision to Widener in MAC Commonwealth play at home Wednesday night.

Team Records
Widener: 13-10 (4-1 MACC)
York: 7-13 (1-4 MACC)

How It Happened
The Spartans opened the match strongly, taking the first set 25-17. They built a quick 12-4 advantage and held the lead throughout the set. Saniya Esters and Liz Kerin fueled the attack at the net, combining for seven kills. The Spartans hit .250 as a team in the opening set while holding Widener to a negative attack percentage.

Widener responded in dominant fashion, evening the match at 1-1 with a 25-14 win in the second set. Azira Benjamin led Pride with four kills while hitting 1.000 on her attacks. The Pride flipped the script by hitting an impressive .500 as a team while limiting York to a negative attack percentage.

The third set proved to be a back-and-forth battle. The Spartans rallied to tie the score at 18-18 behind big swings from Morgan Nolte and Kerin, but Widener held firm with clutch kills from Benjamin who tallied six in the set to close it out, 25-23. Nolte finished with seven kills in the set, while Maddie Hoffman added 12 assists, but it was not enough for the Spartans to pull a win.

The fourth set was another back-and-forth battle. The Spartans led 20-18 late in the set when Widener rallied back to end the set on an 8-0 run to take the final set, 25-20, and win the match, 3-1. Gabriella Bottino and Benjamin lead the way for the Pride with 10 combined kills, while Esters tallied up six kills in the final set for the Spartans.

Benjamin led all players with 17 kills while having a hitting percentage of .443. Liz Barnes led the team with 25 digs.

The Spartans were led by Kerin, who led the team with 12 kills. Hoffman led the all players with 37 assists. Sami Baer led the Spartans with 25 digs.

Up Next
The Spartans are back at home on Saturday for a non-conference tri-match starting at 12 p.m.