Box Score West Haven, CT - The Adelphi University volleyball team returned to the court in West Haven, Connecticut on the campus of the University of New Haven on Friday, November 30 to take on #2 Bridgeport in the NCAA Division II East Regional Semifinals. The Panthers were making their third straight appearance in the regional semifinals and pushed the Purple Knights to the limit in a 3-2 (21-25, 22-25, 25-22, 25-23, 12-15) loss that closed out Adelphi's season with a 25-12 overall record.

Chelsea Overholt led four Panthers in double figure kills with 17, giving her 1,005 for her career, while Kaitlyn DeStefano, Haley Blunt and Samantha Rico added 13, 12 and 10 each. Katie Bryson added a team-high 51 assists, which give her 1,246 for the season, tying her for third on the Adelphi single season list.

Bianca Hernandez paced the defense with 19 digs, giving her 589 for the season, good enough for second on the Panther single season list, as Bree Popham chipped in 13 digs in the loss. DeStefano was also big for Adelphi at the net, posting a game high eight blocks and an Adelphi record 185 blocks on the season.

The first set started with a feeling out process as Adelphi and Bridgeport exchanged leads and punches, finding themselves tied at 15 on a Purple Knight kill. From there Bridgeport was just a touch better, coming out of a timeout that Adelphi forced with an Overholt kill, 21-19, to score four of the final six points, securing a 25-21 set one victory.

Bridgeport opened up a five point cushion near the midway point of the second set and still held a comfortable lead in the latter stages of the game, 19-13. However, five straight points from the Panthers, punctuated by a Blunt smash, pulled Adelphi within one, 19-18. The Purple Knights managed to get to 20 first, but Adelphi came right back with a Rico kill that made the score 20-19.

From there the Purple Knights would squeak out four points in a row, but a kill by Overholt and a Bridgeport error would make it a two point game, 24-22. Unfortunately a Brown and Gold attack error swung the set in Bridgeport's favor and put the Panthers in a 2-0 hole, 25-22.

The Panthers trailed 3-1 early in the third set, but battled back to knot the game at five on a Blunt kill and would take their first lead of the set on a big Dorko hammer, 10-9. From there the Purple Knights would push out to leads of 2-3 points, but each time the Panthers battled back tying the game at 15, 19 and 21.

The final push that Adelphi needed came in the form of back-to-back fills from DeStefano, with some help from Dorko on the second one, giving the Panthers a 23-21 edge. Bridgeport would get a point back, 23-22, following a time out, but a kill from DeStefano and a Purple Knight attack error kept Adelphi alive, two sets to one.

The Purple Knights jumped out to a 3-0 lead, but Adelphi responded by ripping off six straight points to take control of the match 6-3, with the exclamation point coming on a Dorko kill. The Panthers continued to control the action and led 13-10, when Bridgeport mounted a comeback, using a 5-2 spurt to knot the action at 15.

The Brown and Gold would respond by taking back the lead with a 3-0 run, but the Purple Knights would not go quietly, tying the game at 20 and taking a two point lead at 22-20. Back-to-back slams from Blunt knotted the action again, this time at 22 and a Bryson service ace snuck Adelphi out front, 23-22 and forced a Purple Knight timeout. Coming out of the timeout Rico would give the Panthers a two point cushion before a service error made it a one point game again, but a quick Dorko kill forced a deciding fifth game, 25-23.

Adelphi got on the board first in the fifth set, but Bridgeport responded with the next six points in a row, taking a 6-1 lead. The Panthers countered with a quick 3-0 spurt to make it a two point game, 6-4.  Adelphi would continue to play tough, pulling to within one point, 10-9 late in the fifth set on a Bridgeport attack error, but the Purple Knights would score five of the final eight points to secure a 15-12 set win and a 3-2 match victory.  

For their play at the NCAA Regional both Kaitlyn DeStefano and Chelsea Overholt were named to the NCAA All-East Regional Championshp team.

The loss closes out Adelphi's season in the NCAA Division II East Regional Semifinal for the third season in a row and completes the Panthers sixth straight season with 20 or more wins and an NCAA berth.