Garden City, N.Y. - The Adelphi University volleyball picked up their sixth consecutive and earned their fourth five-set victory in the past six games with a 3-2 decision over the College of Saint Rose Friday evening in the Center for Recreation and Sport.
Sara Bisbe was responsible for a new career-high at 21 kills and coupled her double-digits with 17 digs as
McKenna Clawson followed suit with 18 kills and 12 digs of her own. At the net
Cara McKenzie and
Madison Canestrari combined for five solo blocks and six block assists to help the Panthers (13-3, 4-0 NE10) to 11 total team blocks in the win.
Adelphi found themselves battling out of an early deficit in three of the five sets on the evening. They overcame a seven-point hole in the opening set, but pulled out a win at 25-22, courtesy of 14 kills from the attack. Second set saw much of the same as the Brown and Gold trailed by six, but snapped back with a 10-2 run which gave them a two-point advantage middway through. Despite as much as a six-point lead the Golden Knights used momentum down the stretch and took advantage of host miscues to take a 25-23 victory.
Things swung in favor of the home team in the third however, when they jumped out to a 10-5 lead. Clawson buried a kill which sparked a 7-2 slew of points for Adelphi and had them just two tallies away from taking the set. Saint Rose continued to push but only got as close as five, with the Panthers earning the victory by way of back-to-back errors from their opponents.
The Golden Knights did not give in, despite being down 1-2 in the match and instead forced a fifth set by way of an extra point victory in the fourth. The final stood at 27-25 but only after three ties after 20-all.
A service ace from
Sophia Powless earned Adelphi the switch of sides in the final set and after a big solo block and kill from Canestrari, the Knights trailed by six. McKenzie and Clawson closed the door and picked up their sixth straight while remaining unbeaten in conference action.
The Panthers have a quick turnaround as they host American International College on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
About Adelphi Athletics
Adelphi University joined the Northeast-10 Conference in the fall of 2009, and in the past eight 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.
