Springfield, Mass. - The Adelphi University volleyball team found themselves down 0-2 (17-25, 18-25) in the Northeast-10 Championship semifinal against #8 Pace University (23-9) on the campus of AIC in Springfield, Massachusetts tonight, but rallied, winning the final three games, 25-11, 25-15 and 15-5, claiming a 3-2 win and earning a spot in the championship final against #3 New Haven.

The Adelphi (20-11) effort was led by Melissa Rigo and Mandy Stanisloviaits who had 22 and 16 kills each, while Megan Manierski managed to collect a game-high 42 set assists. On the defensive side of the ball Sierra Crook picked up 19 digs, which was enough to push her past Bentley's Katie Markstein for most kills in a Northeast-10 career with 2,290, which is also a new Adelphi program mark. Manierski, Rigo, Stanislovaitis and Katie Barry all joined Crook in the double figure kill club with 21, 18, 14 and 11.

The turning point of the first set was a five point Pace run that turned a one point, 7-6 game into a 12-6 Setter lead. Unfortunately, that was a margin that the Panther could not overcome, dropping the first set, 25-17. The Brown and Gold jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the second game, but Pace used another run, this time a 15-6 effort, claiming a five point advantage, 16-11 on the way to a 2-0 set lead, thanks to a 25-18 game win.

Adelphi erupted in the third set, charging out to a 6-1 lead and extending that to an eight point bulge on a Crook service ace, 13-5. The Panthers kept the pressure on the Setters, leading 20-10 late in the set and closing out play in the third on a 5-1 run, capped by a kill from Madison Canestrari, 25-11. Pace regrouped and came out strong in the fourth, leading 4-3 early, but six straight Adelphi points put the Brown and Gold back in control, 9-4. The Setters would get no closer then four the rest of the way, ultimately falling 25-15, with the final point coming off the hand of Canestrari again.

The fifth set continued the theme and was again all Adelphi. The Panthers sprinted out to a, 6-1 lead on the back of two kills each from Canestrari and Rigo and never looked back, pulling away to an insurmountable 11 point lead, 14-3. Pace got to within nin points, 14-5, but a final Rigo hammer closed the door and sent the Brown and Gold into the Northeast-10 Championship for the third year in a row.

Up Next:
Adelphi will walk back between the lines on Saturday, November 19 when they play #3 New Haven in Springfield, Massachusetts in an effort to win a third straight Northeast-10 Championship.

Notes:
- Adelphi is now 17-4 all-time in Northeast-10 Championship play, including five appearances in the final (3-2).
- Melissa Rigo has 458 kills this season, leaving her just three shy of tying the programs single season record of 461, established by Mandy Stanislovaitis last season.
- The Panthers are 4-21 all-time against New Haven, including a loss earlier this season, 3-0 on October 25.
- Tonight's victory gives Adelphi 20 for the season, the eighth time in the past 10 years that the Panthers have reached the 20 win plateau.
 

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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, 24 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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