New Haven, Conn. - In its sixth five-set contest this season, the Adelphi University volleyball program fell to Southern Connecticut State to suffer just its second league loss Tuesday evening.
Adelphi (18-5, 7-2 NE10) was led by Sara Bisbe, named Northeast-10 Player of the Week earlier on Tuesday, with 19 kills. McKenna Clawson also reaches double-figures with 16 kills, as the two leaders combined for 29 digs.
The Owls (12-12, 5-4 NE10) were led by Alyssa Gage and Gabriela Vazquez who posted 22 and 11 kills, respectively.
An early battle in the opening set led to the Panthers capturing a lead finally at 17-16 which they never relinquished. Grace Wegmann and Madison Canestrari kept things rolling down the stretch as a 4-1 run including kills from Bisbe and Sara Mandreja closed out the 25-19 decision.
The hosting Owls were able to use several sets of scoring runs to take hold of a lead from the very start of the second set, including holding their opponents to a negative hitting percentage. Vazquez recorded a kill at 17-14 which led to the next nine points unanswered for Southern Connecticut to even the match at one apiece.
Momentum stayed with the home team through the third set, where the Owls used their best hitting percentage of the evening - .375 - to take a lead in the NE10 matchup with a 25-13 decision.
The Brown and Gold used a five-point stretch in the fourth to take a 12-7 lead, which was bolstered by a group effort at the net from Canestrari and Cara McKenzie. The Owls managed to chip away at their deficit but errors for the hosts put Adelphi within reach of set point, which was secured via a Clawson strike to force a fifth set.
Both teams were evenly matched at the opening of the fifth and final frame, but after Southern Connecticut earned the switch of sides, it rattled off the next five points to take an 11-7 advantage. Adelphi staged a late comeback however timely hitting handed the Owls the 15-12 win in the end.
The Panthers will use the next two days to prepare for a two-game homestand starting Friday, October 19 at 7:00 p.m. Supporters are encouraged to stay for the department's annual Midnight Madness event, kicking off basketball and winter seasons at 10:15 p.m.
About Adelphi Athletics
Adelphi University joined the Northeast-10 Conference in the fall of 2009, and in the past nine seasons, has collected 27 regular season conference titles, 29 tournament championships, 41 individual crowns and captured the Northeast-10 Presidents' Cup four times (2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017), while winning six NCAA Division II National Championships.
For the latest on Adelphi University Athletics, follow the Panthers at www.aupanthers.com or via social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Snapchat.
