Nov. 20, 2008

Box Score

West Haven, CT - Adelphi Volleyball traveled to West Haven, Connecticut to participate in the NCAA Northeast Region tournament for the second straight season. The #7 seed Panthers drew the #2 Golden Lions of Dowling College in the first round, a team that they lost twice to in the regular season. A more experienced Brown and Gold squad entered the court, but still it was not enough, as the Golden Lions won 3-1 in the first round bout. With the loss the Panthers end their season 27-12, while Dowling improves to 33-6.

The Panthers took the court in game one, and made an immediate statement with an opening match kill by Kelsey Hackett. The Panthers would further their lead to 9-4 with a kill by Audrey Goss. Dowling would see their first lead of the game at 16-15, and three plays later the Panthers would tie it up again with an attack error by the Golden Lions. The game would turn into a back and fourth battle till the end, with the Panthers continuing to answer Dowling's points. A kill by Monika Kasperek of the Golden Lions put the game away in the Blue and Gold's favor, 26-24

Samantha Johnston posted four kills and seven digs in the first game, while Hackett notched three kills of her own. Heather Mau assisted in nine points, while Amy Williams added four digs to the effort. Kelly Scott of the Golden Lions had five kills, while teammate Patricja Klekotka added four of her own.

Adelphi once came out strong, beginning game two, claiming the first point as theirs. However, Dowling would quickly answer, and the Panthers' found themselves in 10-3 hole before a timeout was called. A ball handling error by Dowling's Erin Przybylowicz gave a point to Adelphi after the timeout, but Dowling would continue their offensive threat, reaching a 18-11 advantage. The Panthers would reach within four at 24-20, but once again Monika Kasperek would put game two in the books for Dowling, 25-20, and a two game advantage.

Audrey Goss and Hackett led with two kills in game one, while Mau assisted twice and picked up three digs. Dowling continued their offensive threat with Monika Kasperek, Maja Potpara and Scott both racking up three kills

First kill in game three came via Samantha Johnston to put the Panthers on the board 4-1. A service error two plays later put the Panthers within three at 5-2. Goss picked up a defensive touch later in the match to keep the Panthers within four at 10-6. A kill by Patawe Simms brought the score to 14-8 and essentially began a Brown and Gold rally that would see the score tied at 22. Three unanswered points put the Panthers up by one and began a point for point battle to 25 all. With Johnston on the serve, the Panthers were able to pick up two and claim Adelphi's first match, 27-25. Games still remained in the Dowling's favor 2-1.

The Panthers win of game three was led by four kill labors of Goss and Hackett, with Simms, Mau and Johnston adding two a piece. Mau picked up 11 assists and the Panthers combined for 10 digs. Kasperek five kills and .667 kill percentage was a match best thus far, but was not enough for the Golden Lions to close.

Game four began with the Panthers finding themselves behind the eight ball again, with the score reaching 13-4 in Dowling's favor. However, as in the previous games, Adelphi was able score four unanswered points with Williams on the serve to bring it within five. Kelsey Hackett produced two service aces in a row to up the Panthers' score to 17-14 and a still present squad was proven by a side-out by Simms that brought Adelphi within two, 19-17. This would be the closest the Panthers would get to the Golden Lions in game four as Dowling would close the door on game four 25-18 and Adelphi run in the NCAA Tournament.

Kelsey Hackett led the Panthers with 12 kills, with Audrey Goss piling 10 of her own. Captain Samantha Johnston had 8 kills and tied with Amy Williams for 11 digs. Heather Mau posted 29 assists, while the team picked up 4 blocks.

This closes the season for Adelphi Volleyball. Be sure to stay tuned to aupanthers.com for all information pertaining to Panther volleyball or the University's other 20 intercollegiate sports.