CHESTER, Pa. – The Neumann University Women's Volleyball team picked up a regular season ending 3-0 win over Widener University on Wednesday night, giving them a spot in next week's Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Commonwealth Tournament.
Julia Solomon led the way with 12 kills and a .600 hitting percentage.
Emma Kovacs was the top passer with 18 assists, adding a game-high five service aces.
Melissa Eddy added 11 digs.
Neumann started off the match hot by scoring the first four points on their way to a 7-2 lead. After Widener fought back with three in a row, the Knights scored their own three point run to keep the momentum. With a 14-11 deficit, the Pride roared back with four straight points for their first lead of the day. Neumann responded with five in a row, but Widener also had a 5-0 run to make it a 20-19 lead. The Knights closed out the set by scoring the last six points to take the opening set.
The second set started back-and-forth before an 8-1 run gave Neumann a 13-6 lead. They kept that advantage until 20-13 when Widener scored seven out of eight, pulling within one at 21-20. They got the set to 23-23 before the Knights closed it out with the last two points, and a 2-0 set lead.
Sensing a chance to close out the match and earn a playoff spot, Neumann again started strong in the third when they took a 7-3 lead. The Pride answered to get within one at 9-8 but extended the 12-8, and then to 18-11. They traded points until 20-14 when the Knights notched the last five points to win the match.
Neumann (12-13, 4-4 MAC Commonwealth), with tonight's victory, and Messiah's win over York, clinched the fourth seed in the postseason tournament. They will host the Play-In match on Tuesday when they take on fifth seeded Alvernia University for a 7:00 PM start.
