Old Westbury, N.Y. - Solid defense and consistent offense helped the Adelphi University volleyball team hold off New York Institute of Technology on Tuesday, as they polished off a 3-1 decision in Recreation Hall.
The Panthers (21-5) used team hitting percentages above .200 in three of the four sets played, finishing with 14 or more kills in each to outplay their opponents. Leading the charge was senior
McKenna Clawson who recorded 23 kills, two short of her career high, and rounded out the double-double with 13 digs. Defensively
Katarina Warburton stole the show, finishing the victory with a career-best 40 digs after being named the conference libero of the week earlier Tuesday.
For the Bears (12-13) senior Tiffany Verni led the way with 12 kills and chipped in 16 digs.
The opening set proved to be the highlight of the match, in which NYIT nearly took the advantage but ultimately fell 27-25. The home team rallied from an eight point deficit, using a 13-3 run to steal the lead 25-24, however three straight kills from the hand of Clawson closed out the set in exciting fashion.
A kill courtesy of
Madison Canestrari put Adelphi on a four-point run midway through the second which they battled to maintain. The team used 15 kills, which included five apiece from
Sara Bisbe and Clawson en route to a 25-18 final decision, leaping them to a 2-0 lead in the non-league tilt.
The third set proved to be in favor of the Bears, as the hosts capitalized on 11 attack errors from the Adelphi side, despite the Brown and Gold holding a 14-10 advantage in kills for the set.
In their second best hitting percentage (.256) set of the evening, the Panthers were benefited by 15 kills and held the home team to a menial .000 percentage, after eight kills and eight errors canceled each other out. Adelphi held the upper hand in blocks (8-5) and assists (58-41) in which
Grace Wegmann contributed 46.
The team prepares for a single game road trip at Merrimack College on Friday, October 26. Game time is set for 4:00 p.m. and all available links are located on the volleyball schedule page.
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.
