Wilmington, Del. - The Adelphi University volleyball program finally kicked off the 2019 campaign Friday afternoon at the annual Wildcat Regional Invite, hosted by Wilmington University. Despite falling behind 0-2 in their opening match versus Jefferson, the Panthers (1-1) came back to defeat the Rams in a five-set thriller and capped the day with their first loss of the season to Holy Family University.

For the day, Sara Mandreja led all players with 34 kills, coupled with 16 digs and five service aces. In the setting role, freshman Brenna Valsted posted 66 assists through nine of 10 sets, adding 13 kills along the way. Defensively, Katarina Warburton totaled 63 digs and 18 assists, while Cara McKenzie led all players with six total blocks.

Adelphi vs. Jefferson (17-25, 23-25, 25-18, 25-19, 15-13)
The Panthers fell behind early in their first contest of 2019, finding themselves in a 0-2 deficit, but held the Rams offense to a negative hitting percentage in the third set to swing momentum in favor of the Brown and Gold. A 7-1 run sparked by a double block, courtesy of McKenzie and newcomer Rachel Ten Doeschate, allowed Adelphi to pull away and capture their first winning set of the season. Much of the same action occurred in the fourth, allowing the Panthers to force a deciding fifth set.

Down 4-0 in the final set, Head Coach Danielle MacKnight called an early timeout, which righted the course somewhat as Adelphi took the next two points. Still down by five, Sophia Powless collected a kill that jump started another 7-1 run in favor of the Brown and Gold and capped the spurt with a kill from McKenzie to make it even once more. Locked at 13-all, Mandreja crushed a service ace and Valsted slammed the door with a kill to hand Adelphi the victory.

Adelphi vs. Holy Family (26-24, 23-25, 25-21, 24-26, 10-15)
Three players for both the Panthers and Tigers reached double figures in kills, with the former holding a one-block advantage in the end, despite a loss.

The opening set took extra points in which Mandreja shined, earning the last two points via a service ace and kill. The score evened at 1-1 for the contest after the Tigers took set number two, using their best team hitting percentage of the night at .360. In 2018, Holy Family won the Central Athletic Collegiate Conference title for the first time in program history and made it all the way to the regional final, where it ultimately lost to American International College.

Friday evening's contest marked the fifth time Adelphi has met with the Tigers, as the loss dropped them to 4-1 in the overall series.

Adelphi managed a 25-21 win in the third to take a 2-1 lead in the game, but dropped a devastating 26-24 decision in the fourth set to lead to their second five-set match of the tournament. The Tigers forced the switch of sides after reaching eight points first and used that momentum through the rest of the set. Katie Schloss and McKenzie recorded a stop at the net, which brought the Panthers within two, however Holy Family ended the night scoring four of the final five points to secure a win.

The Panthers are back in action on Saturday, Sept. 13, when they take on the hosting Wildcats at 10:00 a.m. and wrap up the weekend with a 4:00 p.m.contest against Georgian Court.