CHESTER, Pa. – The Arcadia University men's volleyball team opened Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) play with a 3-0 win over Widener University, going 1-1 in its tri-match after falling to Randolph-Macon College 3-1 on Saturday.
 
The Knights now stand at 1-0 in league play and 2-5 overall after the two matches.
 
In the first match against the Pride, both teams traded off the first eight points before Arcadia notched four straight points to take an 8-4 lead. The Knights pushed their lead up to 15-7 as they cruised to a 25-19 first set win.
 
Both teams again traded the first eight points of the second set before Arcadia used a 3-0 run to take a 7-4 lead. The Knights seemed to put the set away with a 6-1 run to make the score 19-14, but Widener battled with a run of its own to cut the advantage to 20-19. Arcadia was able to take the set, outscoring the Pride 5-4 to secure a two-sets to zero advantage.
 
Widener began the third set with a 10-8 lead, however, the Knights battled back with six consecutive points to make the score 14-10 Arcadia. The Pride made the score 22-19 before Arcadia clinched the match.
 
The Knights were led by Collin Nissley and Owen Heft, who finished with eight kills each. Anthony Devantier added 19 assists while Vincent Colucci contributed seven digs.
 
Arcadia began the match against Randolph-Macon with an 11-6 lead but the Yellow Jackets went on a 19-9 run to take set one 25-20.
 
The Knights raced out to a 10-5 lead in set two before Randolph-Macon closed the gap to 13-11. Arcadia led 19-17 before notching the set with a 6-3 sprint to tie the match at one.
 
Set three was tied 11-11 before the Yellow Jackets scored 10 of the next 14 total points, taking a 21-14 lead and winning set three 25-18 to go up two sets to one.
 
Randolph-Macon held a 7-1 lead to start the fourth set, but the Knights trimmed the deficit to 15-13. The Yellow Jackets used a 4-0 run to take a 19-13 lead but Arcadia kept responding, tying the score at 21. The two programs went point-for-point before Randolph-Macon notched two consecutive points to take the set and the match 27-25.
 
Nissley led the way in match two with 10 kills while Heft and Amadeus Cannon totaled eight kills each, which were season-highs for Nissley and Cannon. Devantier finished with 27 assists and seven digs.
 
The Knights return to action on Wednesday when they host Lancaster Bible College for a 7:00 p.m. non-conference match.