Garden City, N.Y. - The Adelphi University volleyball team welcomed an undefeated University of Bridgeport to the Center for Recreation and Sport Wednesday evening, and proceeded to hand the Purple Knights their first loss of the season in a three-set sweep.

Using identical 25-20 scores, the Panthers (4-1) saw two players reach double-digit kills in Sara Mandreja and Cara McKenzie with 13 kills and 12 kills, respectively. Brenna Valsted had 31 assists, as the team combined for nine service aces compared to their opponent's two.

Adelphi put up a five-point run in the opening set to overcome a two-point deficit, ultimately commanding a lead through the remainder of the first. Victoria Bailey notched a kill that sparked a 10-3 stretch in favor of the home team, putting them ahead by nearly double digits.

Bridgeport (7-1) fought back, scoring five unanswered down the stretch. However, Sophia Powless and Victoria Cast handled the final two tallies for the hosts to jump out to a 1-0 lead in the match.

Never trailing in the second set, the Brown and Gold used 12 kills and held the visitors to a sub-.200 hitting percentage with the help of a 3-2 advantage in blocks.

Adelphi's best set of the night was the third, as the offense collectively hit .302, with the help of 17 kills. Three of the first five points in the final frame came courtesy of smart offense from Mandreja, who posted eight kills alone in the last set.

After a 17-all situation, Bridgeport, led by Amanda Hennemann, managed to keep it close, but timely hitting from Rachel ten Doeschate and McKenzie secured the win for the Panthers in their 2019 home opener.

The Panthers head back on the road this weekend to face Chestnut Hill College on Friday, Sept. 19 and Bloomfield College and Queens College in a tri-match at Bloomfield on Saturday, Sept. 20.