Sept. 2, 2006

Adelphi vs. AIC/Adelphi vs. Southern CT

Garden City, N.Y. - The Adelphi University volleyball team closed out the Adelphi University September Showcase with out a loss, opening the season with a perfect record of 3-0 and taking first place. This marks the first time in school history the Panthers have opened a season with three straight wins.

American International College (AIC) placed second overall with a two-day record of 2-1, while Southern Connecticut (1-2) took home third and Philadelphia Biblical placed fourth.

Match One In the first match of the day, the host Panthers took on AIC in what would be a four set grind. Adelphi managed a 31-29 win in the first game, but dropped game two 23-30. The Panthers managed to pick up 30-26 and 30-22 wins in games three and four to collect the win.

Zane Berzina led AIC with a match-high 15 kills and 17 digs. Adelphi had four players chip in with double-figure dig totals, led by Kathleen Creegan (North Bellmore, N.Y.) with 14. Kelly Campbell (Hicksville, N.Y.) added 13, while Lauren Flanagan (Boulder, CO) and Kelsey Hackett (Alta Loma, CA) totaled 11 apiece. Brittany Addeo (Minden, NV) collected a match-high 54 assists in the win.

Match Two Southern Connecticut was rolling early against Philadelphia Biblical in the second match of the day, taking game one 30-20 and game two by the count of 30-26. However, Philadelphia Biblical came alive in game three, pushing Southern Connecticut to the limit, taking the game 35-33. The Owls countered with a 30-21 win in game four to close out the 3-1 victory.

Heather Lowe led Philadelphia Biblical with a match-high 19 kills and added 17 digs. Kierstin Pry picked up a match-high 23 digs and chipped in 11 kills to help Southern Connecticut collect the win.

Match Three AIC dug deep in the third match of the day, spotting Philadelphia Biblical two game (30-32 and 25-30) before coming alive to take games three and four convincingly (30-22 and 30-18). It was all AIC in game five as the Yellow Jackets pulled out a 15-7 win.

Lowe again led the Philadelphia Biblical attack, picking up a match-high 22 kills and adding 11 digs. Berzina led AIC with 16 kills and a match-high 28 digs.

Match Four In the fourth and final game of the tournament, Adelphi moved out to an early 1-0 lead after a decisive 30-22 win in game one. The Owls fought back, taking game two 30-25, before the Panthers responded with wins of 30-23 and 30-21 to close out the 3-1 win.

Nekane Mendizabal led Southern Connecticut with eight kills and 13 digs. Campbell was the lightning rod for the Adelphi attack, collecting a match-high 18 kills, while Addeo notched 41 assists.

All-Tournament Team
Lauren Flanagan - Adelphi
Zane Berzina - AIC
Heather Lowe - Philadelphia Biblical
Nekane Mendizabal - Southern Connecticut

MVP - Brittany Addeo - Adelphi