ST. DAVIDS, Pa.– Though things looked bleak, Eastern University Men's Volleyball rallied past the visiting Widener University Pride to claim a five-set MAC Commonwealth win. After dropping the third set in heart-breaking fashion, the Eagles came back on the court for the fourth set with setter Chris Miller still on the bench. With Jeremiah Pha filling in and Tiger Winston stepping into a six rotation spot, the Eagles won the fourth set 28-26 and earned a 15-13 win in the deciding set. Winston, who began playing competitive volleyball this year, delivered the final kill. 

The third set should have been enough to tear the heart out of the Eagles. Widener went up 8-1 and looked to be cruising with a 16-8 lead. The Eagles found momentum with Max Bagileo at the service line. First, it was a Widener hitting error, and then a kill from Andres Suarez Batista. Bagileo then delivered an ace and Josiah Cash came up with a huge solo block. Another ace and Suarez Batista kill pulled the Eagles to within a point. Pha put down a tough kill and Cash destroyed an over-pass and the Eagles held an improbable 17-16 lead. 

Eastern still led at 21-20, but the Pride scored the final five points of the set to win 25-21. Adding to Eastern's issue was the impact of Miller's injury.

With little time to transition, Pha, who did set a good bit last year, went from hitting opposite the setter to being the setter for the fourth set. 

It did not start super-well. Widener led 5-0 and built a 7-2 edge. 

The match began to turn when Winston went back to serve. New to the sport, Winston has spent much of the year learning and doing all he can to help the team in practice. Serving is something he did a lot. Winston delivered three accurate serves and the Eagles scored twice to close the gap to 8-5. The Eagles took their first lead of the set on a three-point run with Lucas Adam at the serving line. Adam served 20 times in the match and had four aces. The junior outside hitter was 20-for-20 on serve receive and finished with 13 kills. 

The Eagles built a 17-14 lead, but the Pride found a six-point run to grab a 20-17 lead. The Eagles earned a sideout after Winston, a soccer player in high school, kept a rally alive with his foot. Winston then served for a pair of points to tie the set at 20-20. Cash delivered kills on both points. He finished with a team-high 16 and a stellar .636 hitting percentage. 

With a sideout, Widener still held the edge and had match points at 24-23 and 26-25. Both times, Adam delivered kills to extend the match. Adam delivered a pair of aces to force a fifth set. Despite the rough start, Pha had 14 assists and the Eagles hit .229 in the set. 

Riding the momentum of the fourth set, the Eagles built an 8-7 lead at the turnaround in the fifth. Pha put the Eagles up 9-7 and forced a Widener timeout with powerful termination of an over-pass.

The Eastern lead grew to 10-7 and was at 13-9 on Winston's first kill of the match. Widener put together a 4-point run tied the score at 13-13 before Adam again delivered to give the Eagles match point. Adam served aggressively and forced a tip that Pha handled. Rather than risk a complicated set, Bagileo set the guy in front of him. Winston hit over a double-block into a hole in the middle of the court to lift the Eagles to the win. 

Eastern hit .210 for the match. Bagileo and Pha each had nine kills. Bagileo had three blocks and Pha finished with a block, 13 digs, and 25 assists. Suarez Batista had 12 kills and 12 digs and Max Bushong finished with 9 digs. 

Widener won the opening set 27-25, and Eastern won the second 25-21. Josh Matchett delivered 25 kills to lead Widener.

The Eagles will host Messiah University and Stevens Institute of Technology in a MAC Commonwealth tri-match on Saturday. Messiah (21-2, 6-0) is ranked fifth nationally, and Stevens (26-2, 6-0) is the top ranked team in the country. Eastern will play Stevens at 3 pm and Messiah at 7. Stevens and Messiah will play at 5:00 PM.