Springfield, Mass. - For the sixth time in Head Coach Danielle Macknight's tenure, the Adelphi University volleyball team will play in the second round of the NCAA Division II East Region tournament after defeating Jefferson University on Thursday night, in a five-set thriller. 

Four different players finished in double-digit kills, led by Macarty McQueen who set a new career-high with 19. Lilyen McCarthy posted a team-high hitting percentage at .519, with 17 kills and just two errors all night. Brenna Valsted secured a new career-high in assists as she paced the offense with 49. Defensively, the Panthers (22-10) outdug the Rams (24-7) 80-69. 

Adelphi ran up the opening set 7-3 after stringing together two consecutive service aces and three straight kills. Four unanswered points for Jefferson caused Head Coach Danielle MacKnight to call a timeout, which proved to help as Adelphi earned the sideout. Another 7-3 run capped with a rocket from McQueen put the five-seed in the drivers seat for the remainder of the frame. 

Several miscues from Jefferson coupled with perfect swinging down the stretch handed the Panthers the 25-14 opening set win. Heading into the second set, Adelphi's offense was hitting over .500 as a team, as they poured in 17 kills with just two errors as the Rams were held to a mere seven kills. 

The next set played out much like the first, with the Brown and Gold taking a lead and leaving the Rams stunned. Another 18-kill effort from Macknight's squad proved to be the difference maker as the Rams only managed to find the floor eight times, while committing six errors. Valsted and McCarthy sealed the deal with tandem points, to move to 2-0 in the match. 

A Yonker service ace sparked a four-point run for Adelphi, who ended up leading by at most five throughout the set. The Rams clawed their way back in however, evening the match at 21-21. From there it was back and forth with Jefferson earning set point first, as they ultimately used extra points to extend the first round matchup. 

Noelle Alberda found the floor early in the fourth to make it a three-point game, a lead the Panthers briefly held as the teams were locked at six-all. Jefferson was trailing by four at 15-19, but overcame the deficit with 10 straight points to land at set point. In that stretch, the Rams' Jaysa Even contributed to three huge stops at the net. 

Adelphi mustered up two consecutive points, but Jefferson closed the door to force a fifth frame. 

Spectators may have thought another early lead for Adelphi would have proved to be the diffference maker, however it was Jefferson that forced the swtich of sides after earning the eighth point, with the Panthers trailing by one. With Jamaya Harris at the service line, McQueen and McCarthy each recorded kills that made it 14-10, Adelphi. Jefferson rallied with a sideout but McQueen's tooled shot earned the upset and sends the five-seed to the East Region semifinals. 

The second roun dof action will be a rematch of the 2022 Northeast-10 Conference tournament, with Adelphi taking on the hosting Yellow Jackets for the second time in less than a week. Match time is set for 7:30 p.m.