CHESTER, Pa.– A short-handed Eastern University men's volleyball squad earned a tough four-set win at Widener. The Eagles ground out wins in the first two sets and built an early lead and held on in the fourth. Justin Flor led the Eagles with 13 kills and two aces.

The first set featured 20 ties and eight lead changes, but the Eagles five of the final six points to earn the 26-24 win. Eastern (4-5, 1-1)  led 20-18 and seemed to earn a point when Widener's third contact went off  the net and back on to their side, but the referees did not stop play and the Pride scored and tied the set on the next serve.

With Widener (3-5, 0-1) up 23-21, Head Coach Randy Syracuse called on Jeremiah Pha to enter for defense. The substitution did enough to change the momentum and Max Bagileo earned a sideout point with a kill. Flor put the Pride on their heels with a tough serve and the Eagles tied the set. The Teams then traded service errors before the Eagles scored the final two points with Rodney Quarles at the service line.

On the final play, Trey Miller picked up a Widener tip with a pancake dig and Lucas Adam which Lucas Adam converted. Miller finished the match with five digs and a nearly 96 percent success rate in serve receive.

The Eagles hit .300 in the opening set. Flor had four kills, Quarles had three, and the team put down 13 balls.

Eastern trailed 16-13 in the second set before Flor, Quarles, Bagileo, and Chris Miller all earned points on serve to pull away to a 25-20 win. The Eagles took advantage of six Widener service errors and another six hitting errors to pull away.

The Eagles had a chance to end the match in the  third set, but the Pride scored the final two points to win 25-23. Widener hit .300 in the third set.

Quarles made a difference at the service line in the fourth. The rookie outside hitter had an ace early and a critical ace on a float-serve to a deep corner late to help the Eagles to a 25-19 win. The Eagles bumped a 7-6 lead to a 10-6 edge with Quarles serving. Flor also had a good run at the service line and four kills in the fourth.

"For the second time in a few days the team put forth a monstrous effort against a bigger team," Head Coach Randy Syracuse said after the match. "Every player stepped up to contribute to the win.  To get this win without our captain [Foster Lobb] shows the true heart and spirit of this group of young men. We made the big plays when they mattered most and that seemed to be the difference in the match.  I couldn't be happier for them to have this win tonight. I want to especially commend the guys who were not in the game for their enthusiasm. We were able to react correctly in several situations because we have had competitive practices. It was a complete team win."

The Eagles return to the court on March 5 at home against Stevenson.