Garden City, N.Y. - Despite leading 2-1 in the match, the Adelphi University volleyball program could not hold on for the win, dropping a five-set thriller inside the Center for Recreation and Sports to Molloy College on Thursday. 

While Adelphi (10-3) was chasing its sixth consecutive win, the Lions (4-6) not only snapped the streak, but defeated the Panthers for the first time on their home court, with the help of a career-high 24 kills from Graciela Cruz. For the home team, Lilyen McCarthy was the only one to reach double-digit kills in the five-set match with 12, followed by Samantha Meehan who chipped in eight. Setter of the Week Kambel Fiser notched 40 assists to break the 300 threshold already this season, as three different players logged 20 or more digs. 

The hosts cleanly took a 25-15 set one victory with the help of an 11-3 run midway through the opener, but Molloy responded with a narrow 25-21 set two win to even the match at one-all. 

It turned into an all-Adelphi affair in the third frame, as they doubled their opponents lead in the early going and committed just one error to hit .323 as a team. Fiser, who led the team with four service aces, was one of three players for the home team to record the stat en route to a 25-17 win. Overall, the Brown and Gold commanded an 11-3 edge in the service ace category for the contest. 

Jamie Yonker collected an ace at 5-3 in the fourth frame to give Adelphi a two-point lead, however the Lions stormed back with a 10-3 stretch to overwhelmingly shift the momentum in their favor. Adelphi tried to stage a comeback, but came as close as three on a McCarthy killed, ultimately letting the fourth slip away to force a deciding set. 

Rookie Jaydin Nowak subbed in at the service line and immediately forced a reception error for Molloy to lead 4-2. Several miscues from the Panther attack led to a tie game at 5-5, which the visitors continued to run with to take a lead they would never relinquish. Molloy took six of the final eight points, including back-to-back kills from Cruz to seal the deal for the Nassau County foe. 

Adelphi opens up Northeast-10 Conference action this weekend when they head north to Le Moyne College for a 1:00 p.m. contest on Saturday, Sept. 25.