Bloomfield, N.J. - Coming off a Friday night loss to Chestnut Hill College, the Adelphi University volleyball team took two on Saturday in a tri-match featuring Bloomfield College and Queens College to move to 6-2 overall in 2019.
Adelphi vs. Bloomfield (25-11, 25-15, 23-25, 25-22)
Sara Mandreja led all players with 19 kills in the Panthers' first win of the day, nearly missing the double-double with nine digs. Adelphi opened the first set with six unanswered points, which kept the Bears trailing throughout. Untimely attack errors from the hosts handed AU five straight points down the stretch, en route to a 25-11 opening-set victory. Bloomfield managed to win the first two points of the second frame, but Adelphi rattled off eight straight to regain control and ultimately take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Momentum quickly shifted as the hosts opened the third set on an 11-2 run, from which the Panthers had to climb out of a nine-point hole.
Cara McKenzie notched a kill that was the start of three straight points for Adelphi, bringing them within one and the Panthers later evened the set at 21-all. The third frame slipped away as the Bears secured four of the last six points, forcing a fourth set.
Another tight set throughout, the Brown and Gold used a five-point run in the middle of the fourth set, grabbing a three-point advantage. Bloomfield staged a comeback down the stretch, coming within two, but
Victoria Cast and
Sophia Powless registered kills to secure the first win of the afternoon.
Adelphi vs. Queens (25-16, 25-14, 25-7)
The Panthers managed to best the Knights in each set played, lowering their opponents score from sets one to three.
Sofia Pinzon registered a career-high 11 kills on a .421 hitting percentage to lead all players, while adding four service aces to her stat line.
 It was at 5-5 in the opening set that Adelphi pulled away, including a seven-point stretch sparked by a
Victoria Cast kill that put them ahead by eight.
Queens tried to stage a comeback, but was unsuccessful, as Mandreja notched back-to-back kills to end the set. The Panthers used four service aces in the first 10 points of the second set and reeled off nine unanswered to set them apart from the Knights. Queens used a five-point run of its own in an attempt to cut the deficit, but the visitor attack closed the door with the final three points.
The final set was no contest, as the Adelphi attack hit .521 as a team and held the Knight offense to a mere two kills and negative hitting percentage.
Adelphi returns home for its 2019 Northeast-10 Conference opener on Wednesday (Sept. 25) against Pace University at 7 p.m.
The Adelphi Department of Athletics, in conjunction with the Center for Student Involvement, will be hosting 'Fall Fest' on Wednesday. 'The Waffle Cabin' will be cooking and serving 300 waffles free of charge for fans in attendance at the 7 p.m. men's soccer and volleyball matches. During that time, SAB will also be providing cotton candy and popcorn, as we welcome the fall season beginning that week.
