North Andover, Mass. - The Adelphi University volleyball took to the road on Saturday, October 29, traveling to North Andover, Massachusetts for a Northeast-10 contest with Merrimack College (4-21, 2-8 NE-10) that ended in a 3-1 (25-17, 20-25, 25-22, 25-14) victory for the Panthers thanks to an offense that posted a 0.237 attack percentage. 

The trio of Melissa Rigo, Mandy Stanislovaitis and Madison Canestrari led the Adelphi (15-10, 6-4 NE-10) explosion at the net with 21, 15 and 10 kills respectively, while Megan Manierski guided the offense to the tune of 44 set assists. Sierra Crook had a team-high 19 digs and was followed into double digits by Stanislovaitis (13), Rebecca Seeba (12) and Rigo (11).

The hosts took a 16-14 lead with back-to-back kills, but the Panthers answered with seven unanswered points to take control, 21-16. The final five points went Adelphi's way, 4-1 handing the Brown and Gold the win 25-17. The Warriors jumped out to an 8-1 advantage in the second frame, but after an Adelphi timeout the Panthers went on a 6-1 spurt of their own to pull within two, 9-7. Another host kill put the Warriors in front by three, but a 5-1 run for the Panthers gave Adelphi their first lead of the game. However, with the set tied at 19-all, the Navy and Gold ripped off six of seven points to even the match at one all, 25-20.

The Panthers surged to an 8-5 advantage in the third set, prompting the first Merrimack timeout. The Brown and Gold continued to maintain their lead through the next Warriors' timeout, which came at the 17-11 mark. However the hosts rallied, successfully defending four set points to make it a 24-22 set, but the Panthers won the frame on their fifth chance, a Canestrari kill.

The Panthers played their best volleyball of the afternoon in the fourth, racing out to a 15-7 lead. After the deficit grew to 12, Merrimack back-to-back kills from Merrimack made it a nine point game, but the Adelphi stopped the rally there, winning four of the next five points to take the set and the match, 25-14.

Up Next:
Adelphi returns to action on Friday, November 4 at 7:00 pm when Saint Michael's College travels to Garden City for a Northeast-10 showdown.

Notes:
- Sierra Crook is just 24 digs shy of tying her fifth place single season dig mark of 512 and Melissa Rigo is just 24 kills shy of the fifth place mark on the single season kill list, 382.  
- Adelphi is now 8-3 all-time against Merrimack and have never lost to Saint Michael's in 11 total matches.
 

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About Adelphi Athletics:
Adelphi University joined the Northeast-10 Conference in the fall of 2009 and in the past seven seasons, has collected 20 regular season conference titles, 23 tournament championships, 29 individual crowns and captured the Northeast-10 Presidents' Cup three times (2013, 2014, and 2016), while winning five NCAA Division II National Championships.

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