Amherst, N.Y. — The Adelphi University women's volleyball team had an upset on their minds in the NCAA Division II East Regional, but the eighth-seeded Panthers' effort fell short against the top-seeded NYIT Bears, 3-1.  

In defeat, Melissa Rigo paced Adelphi (20-13) with 10 kills, while Mandy Stanislovaitis and Amanda Borges each added nine in their final game as Panthers. Megan Manierski and Katie Barry split duties at setter, totaling a combined 28 assists, while Sierra Crook notched 22 digs in her final Adelphi game. NYIT (29-5) had three players notch double-figures in kills, led by 15 from Rachel Guida, and advance to the regional semifinals to face American International.

In an opener in which the Panthers struggled on offense with 11 attack errors, the Bears sprinted out to a 17-9 lead in the early action. After a Karolina Moderova service error handed the side out to the Panthers, the Brown and Gold ripped off an eight-point run on the Rigo serve, in which she hit three aces, to take the lead at 18-17. However, that proved to be Adelphi's last stand in the opener, as NYIT ran off eight of the final nine points of the set to take a 1-0 lead, 25-19.

The second set started much the same for the top seeds, as the Bears got out to an early 11-7 lead. However, five straight points for the Brown and Gold put them up 12-11, but the set saw five more ties following that mark. A Madison Canestrari kill knotted the set at 16-16, and a Borges effort gave the Panthers a two-point cushion at 18-16 which stood until the Brown and Gold scored the final five points of the set on the strength of three Rigo kills, 25-18. 

The Bears again edged out to an early lead in the third set, taking a 10-6 lead that ballooned to 18-10 by the midway point of the set. Consecutive NYIT miscues saw the Panthers pull to within three at 19-16, but the late push for the Panthers fell short, and the Bears took the third set 25-20 to lead 2-1. 

Adelphi sprinted out to a 5-0 lead in the fourth, capped as Katherine Ferris blocked back an NYIT offering solo, before the Bears ran off six of the next seven points to knot the set at 6-6. In what was a back-and-forth set that saw ties and lead changes , the Bears pulled out to a 21-18 lead in the fourth and forced the Brown and Gold to use a final timeout. Adelphi used a final push to make it a one-point game, with Ferris and Barry blocking back a pair of efforts, but NYIT tallied the final three points to take the set and match, 3-1.

NOTES

• The 2016 season saw Adelphi make its 10th straight NCAA Division II East Regional field.
• Stanislovaitis ends her Brown and Gold career as Adelphi's #2 player all-time in kills, behind Kaitlyn DeStefano ('15).
• Crook is Adelphi's all-time leader in program digs with a total of 2,324, which is also an NE-10 mark.

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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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