Garden City, N.Y. - The Adelphi University volleyball team's torrid October continued Saturday was a 3-0 sweep of visiting Saint Anselm College, its ninth straight victory.

Adelphi (19-5, 6-1 NE10) had perhaps its finest offensive performance of the season in the opening set against the Hawks, as the 'Cats hammered down 17 kills without an attack error to make a statement to start the afternoon. The second and third sets proved tighter, but AU, too, found the answers each time to record a straight-sets win for the 16th time this year. 

A 9-0 run from 14-13 behind, where Noelle Alberda swung for three kills and Samantha Meehan chipped in two, helped AU snag the second set, while six of seven points turn a slim, one-point lead at 10-9 into a 16-10 edge for the Panthers in a third set where the breathing room was most welcome. While Saint Anselm (12-8, 3-4 NE10) pulled to within two at 16-14, the Hawks got no closer the rest of the way, and kills from Alberda, Macarty McQueen and Brenna Valsted in the last six points helped wrap things up. 

Alberda racked up a match-high 12 kills, AU's offensive leader for a third straight contest, while McQueen joined her in double figures and picked up a double-double for the first time in nearly two weeks. The 2022 NE10 Rookie of the Year tallied 11 kills and 14 digs, the latter tying a season best.

Starting for the first time in week, Valsted dished out 33 assists with five digs and two kills, while Jamie Yonker anchored the defense with 16 digs. 

Hoping for an unbeaten month, Adelphi will play its penultimate regular-season home match on Halloween night against the University of New Haven at 7 p.m. in the CRS in what is a crucial match for the Panthers' postseason positioning. New Haven will play Franklin Pierce in Northeast-10 Conference action Saturday evening, but entering today, the Chargers sit in first place in the NE10 as winners of their last 11 matches, with AU tied with Bentley University for second place.