For the second straight night, the Adelphi University women’s volleyball team stared down multiple match points in a Northeast-10 Conference Tournament match, and for the second straight night, the Panthers rallied to win.
On Saturday afternoon at Charger Gymnasium on the campus of the University of New Haven, the No. 4 seeded Panthers downed the No. 3 seeded Bentley University Falcons, 3-2 (23-25, 25-10, 25-18, 15-25, 17-15) to claim the program’s second NE-10 Championship title and earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Volleyball Championship. The Panthers previously won the conference tournament crown in 2011.
A balanced attack was the key to Adelphi’s (16-14) success, as Haley Blunt, Kaitlyn DeStefano and Mandy Stanislovaitis all tallied double digits in kills. Blunt led the way with 18, while DeStefano and Stanislovaitis each posted 12. Freshman setter Megan Manierski ran the Panther offense to the tune of 47 assists, and posted five kills of her own. On the defensive end, Sierra Crook dug up 26 balls to lead all players while Blunt racked up 25 and Stanislovaitis also added 15. DeStefano and Samantha Breidenbach each blocked back seven Bentley offerings, while Shelby Stoner had a hand in four.
After winning the Northeast-10 Conference Championship on Saturday, the Adelphi University volleyball team qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the eighth straight year as announced Sunday evening. The Panthers enter as the fifth seed and was scheduled to face Bentley, the fourth seed, on Thursday evening in Bridgeport, Conn.
Thursday’s first round match will be a rematch of the NE-10 Championship match from this past Saturday, as the Brown and Gold upended the Falcons 3-2. Earlier this season, Bentley rallied from a 2-0 deficit to upend Adelphi 3-2.
In the other regional matchups, host and top-seeded Bridgeport will face eighth-seeded Post with the winner facing either Bentley or Adelphi. The other two matches include third-seeded Stonehill against sixth-seeded LIU Post and second-seeded New Haven versus seventh-seeded Saint Rose, with the two winners facing each other in the next round.
Semifinal matches will follow on Friday, with the East Regional title match slated for Saturday. The winner of the East Regional will advance to the national quarterfinals, scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 4, in Louisville, KY. Following on December 5th and 6th are the national semifinals and final matches.
