CHESTER, Pa. – The Cairn University men's volleyball team opened up their 2021-22 season at Widener University on Wednesday evening, dropping a four-set, 3-1 loss to the Pride.
 
Widener (2-3) controlled momentum in the first set, handily claiming a 25-13 decision to take a 1-0 lead in the match, before Cairn (0-1) responded with a 25-20 victory in set two to even up the match. In that second set, the Highlanders utilized a pair of kills from sophomore Will Nase (Harleysville, PA / Souderton Area) in their final five points to claim the set. In the third set, the Highlanders trailed 20-16 but were brought back into it by junior Cameron Cronk (Quakertown, PA / Quakertown HS) who hammered down three-straight kills for Cairn to cut the deficit to 21-19. However, the Pride scored four of the next five points to take a 2-1 lead in the match. In the fourth set, both teams battled back-and forth and Cairn held the edge at 20-19, threatening to take the match to a fifth and final set, but the Pride had the answer, scoring four of the next five points to take a 23-21 lead. Cairn cut the deficit to 24-23, but one final kill from Widener ended the Highlanders' comeback attempt.
 
Cairn was led by Cronk, who slammed down a career-high 10 kills to pace the attack. Cronk was followed by Nase and senior Dave Cassel (Silverdale, PA / Pennridge) who each tallied five kills. Juniors Joshua Hoagland (Chiang Rai, Thailand / Chian Rai International Christian School) and Josh Moyer (Quakertown, PA / Quakertown HS) led the defensive effort, with Hoagland notching a match-high five blocks and Moyer recording a team-high nine digs. Junior Shea Scott (Harleysville, PA / Souderton) dished out a team-high 16 assists.
 
Cairn will be back in action on Saturday, February 12 for a tri-match at Lancaster Bible College, starting with a match with the Chargers at 10 a.m. before they take on Geneva College at noon.