Volleyball Tripped Up By Gannon and Clarion

Adelphi slips to 0-4 with losses to Gannon and Clarion.

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Clarion, Penn. - The Adelphi University volleyball team continued play in Clarion, Pennsylvania on Saturday, September 6 at the Tony Banner Memorial Tournament at Clarion University. In two matches, the Panthers fell to Gannon University, 3-1 (23-25, 25-21, 14-25, 17-25) and Clarion University, 3-0 (16-25, 11-25, 12-25). With the losses, the Panthers drop to 0-4 overall.

Gannon vs. Adelphi
The Panthers opened the contest strong, pushing out to a 10-8 lead on an ace from Haley Blunt. But, Gannon would out score Adelphi, 11-4, taking control of the set, 19-14. However, the Brown and Gold kept pressing, nearly breaking through when they pulled within one, 24-23, on a Gannon error, before falling, 25-23. The Golden Knights kept the momentum going, building a quick 4-1 lead in game two, but Adelphi rallied, stealing the lead at 10-9 on a Gannon miscue. After some back and forth, that found the game tied at 14 all, when a 6-2 Panther spurt, capped by a Blunt kill, put Adelphi on top for good, 20-14, on the way to a 25-21 victory.

The opening points of the third set were hotly contested as Adelphi pulled to within a point, 10-9, on a Golden Knight error. But, Gannon used a 14-5 run to close the third game, collecting a 25-14 victory and claiming a 2-1 lead. The fourth set played out similar to the third, with Adelphi getting as close as two points, 15-13, when the Golden Knights unleashed a 10-4 run that turned the Panthers away, 25-17.

Kaitlyn DeStefano paced the offense with 11 kills, while Mandy Stanislovaitis chipped in 10 and Blunt added nine. Alayna Jackson captained the Adelphi attack to the tune of 33 set assists, while Sierra Crook had a game-high 20 digs and Blunt added 11.

Clarion vs. Adelphi
Adelphi kept pace with the Golden Eagles early in game one, taking advantage of a Clarion error to tie the game at eight. But, the Golden Eagles came alive, out scoring Adelphi, 17-8 in a 25-16 win. The second set was all Clarion, as the Golden Eagles sprinted out to a 13-4 lead and never looked back, picking up a second game win, 25-11. Clarion used another early surge in the third and final game, taking a 12-4 edge, before closing out the match, 25-12.

DeStefano again led the attack, this time with seven kills, while Blunt had six. Megan Manierski powered the Panther offense with nine set assists, and Crook was the only Panther with double figure digs at 11.

Honors:
For her efforts over the two days of the Tony Banner Memorial Invitational, Kaitlyn DeStefano was named to the All-Tournament team.

Up Next
Adelphi returns to action on Tuesday, September 9 when they invite Dowling College to Garden City for a 7:00 pm contest.

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Players Mentioned

#9 Haley Blunt: OH; 5' 9"; Senior; East Setauket, NY / Ward Melville

#16 Sierra Crook: L/DS; 5' 8"; Sophomore; Spokane, Wash. / Mead

#10 Kaitlyn DeStefano: MB; 6' 4"; Senior; Farmingdale, NY / Farmingdale

#4 Alayna Jackson: S; 5' 10"; Junior; McKinney, TX / McKinney North

#12 Mandy Stanislovaitis: OH; 5' 10"; Sophomore; West Chester, OH / Lakota West

#13 Megan Manierski: S; 5' 10"; Freshman; Macomb, MI / Dakota

Players Mentioned

#9 Haley Blunt
: 5' 9"; Senior; East Setauket, NY / Ward Melville
: OH

#16 Sierra Crook
: 5' 8"; Sophomore; Spokane, Wash. / Mead
: L/DS

#10 Kaitlyn DeStefano
: 6' 4"; Senior; Farmingdale, NY / Farmingdale
: MB

#4 Alayna Jackson
: 5' 10"; Junior; McKinney, TX / McKinney North
: S

#12 Mandy Stanislovaitis
: 5' 10"; Sophomore; West Chester, OH / Lakota West
: OH

#13 Megan Manierski
: 5' 10"; Freshman; Macomb, MI / Dakota
: S