CHESTER, Pa.– Eastern University Women's Volleyball returned to action after a full week off and earned an important MAC Commonwealth win at Widener University. The Eagles(18-1, 5-0) beat the host Pride (12-6, 1-3) in the first two sets, but needed a fourth-set to seal the match. Logan Martin delivered 17 kills, Grace Casagrande delivered a match-high 24 digs, and Elle Jiron-Bujanda dished out 39 assists and three aces.

After the extended break, the Eagles took a little bit of time to shake off the rust in the opening set. The Pride held an 18-17 lead and with their home crowd starting to get into the game forced Eastern into a timeout. Whatever Head Coach Mark Birtwistle said in the timeout worked. Bridgette Kelly pounded one of her 11 kills for side-out. The first-year middle then went back to the service line and served out the set. Kelly hit .370 in the match and finished with three aces and a pair of blocks. 

After the 25-18 win in the opening set, the Eagles served their way to a huge lead in the second. After Widener scored on the first serve of the set, the Eagles executed nine consecutive side-out chanc4s on the way to a 22-10 lead. The Pride scored six service points late to tighten the final score, but Jailene Lugo ended the set with a kill. Natalie Saxton and Martin both had four kills and Eastern hit .275 as a team in the set.

Early serve-receive troubles in the third put the Eagles in an eight-point hole down 12-4. The Eagles fixed their side-out game late in the set but were not able to serve for enough points to draw level. Eastern pulled to within three at 21-18, but a Widener timeout stopped the Eastern rally and the Pride forced a fourth set with a 25-20 win. Caught out of system, the Eagles hit just .075 with eight hitting errors in the set. Widener hit .273 in the set.

Eastern trailed 4-0 in the fourth, but six straight side-outs and strong serving put the Eagles up 20-11 before Widener got a pair of points on serve. Jiron-Bujanda served out the final four points of the match. Martin put away the final point after an extended rally.

"I thought Grace Casagrande did a nice job in the back row organizing our defense," Birtwistle said. "She also passed really well in serve-receive. That allowed our middles to be involved. When Natalie and Bridgette are running well, our team plays better." 

With the 18th victory, Birtwistle picks up his 772nd career win. On Sunday afternoon, he will become the first active coach inducted into Eastern's Hall of Honor. His teams have won 21 conference championships and appeared in 19 NCAA Tournaments. Under his leadership, Eastern Women's Volleyball have won three Regional Championships and reached the Final Four in 2011. 

The Eagles will be at Lancaster Bible on Tuesday before hosting Haverford College on Friday Oct. 15. Haverford is the only team to beat the Eagles this year.