Springfield, Mass. - The #5 Adelphi University volleyball run through the Northeast-10 Championship hit a road block in the conference final today, November 19 in the form of the #3 University of New Haven (19-8). The Panthers fell behind early, 1-0, knotted the game at one, but ran out of gas, falling 3-1 (14-25, 25-22, 21-25, 20-25) in Springfield, Massachusetts.

As they have all year, Melissa Rigo and Mandy Stanislovaitis led the Adelphi (20-12) offense. Rigo was credited with a game-high 19 kills and is now the Adelphi single season kills leader with 477, besting Stanislovaitis', who chipped in 10 kills, 2015 record of 462. Both Megan Manierski and Katie Barry recorded 20 assists, while five members of the Brown and Gold recorded double figure dig totals, led by 15 from Manierski. Stanislovaitis (14), Rigo (13), Sierra Crook (12) and Katarina Warburton (12) joined Manierski in double digits.

The Chargers came out of the gates quick, building a 10-3 lead in the first set that Adelphi could not overcome. The Panthers got as close as five after New Haven's opening set run, but could get no closer, falling, 25-14. The Brown and Gold woke up in the second set, and kept the game tight until a six point run in the middle of the game put New Haven on top 19-14. However, Adelphi rallied, sparked by a Warburton service ace, to score 11 of the final 14 points, knotting the contest at one all.

The third set opened with runs from each team, with Adelphi's four point spurt tying the game at 11. Unfortunately, the Chargers came out on the positive end of 13 of the next 20 points, taking a 24-18 lead. The Panthers continued to fight, scoring three straight points, including two off the hand of Rigo, to get within three, 24-21, but New Haven shut the door with an attack from Caroline Martins, putting the Brown and Gold in a 2-1 hole, 25-21.

Adelphi continued trying to keep pace with the Chargers in the fourth game, trailing by just two, 9-7 in the early going. Unfortunately, a quick New Haven burst of four straight points made it a six point deficit, 13-7. A second Charger run, this one of the five point variety, made the hole even deeper at 10 points, 19-9. Adelphi fought back, getting as close as four points twice, the final time on an attack from Rigo, 24-20. But again, New Haven had an answer, this time in the form of a match ending kill, 25-20.

Up Next
The Panthers will now wait to see if their name is called when the NCAA National Committees announces the field for the 2017 NCAA Division II Tournament. To watch the live selection show on Monday, November 21 at 7:30 pm click HERE.    

Notes:
- Melissa Rigo is now the programs single season leader in kills with 477, which replaces teammate Mandy Stanislovaitis' mark of 462 set a season ago.
- Adelphi is now 3-3 all-time in Northeast-10 Championship finals, including wins in 2014 and 2015.
 

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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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