Garden City, N.Y. - In the semifinal matchup of the NCAA Division II East Regional Friday evening, the top-seeded Adelphi University volleyball team fell to No. 5 seed Daemen University in four sets. 

The Panthers (26-7), who reached the East Region final a season ago, conclude the 2023 campaign with Head Coach Danielle MacKnight's tenth 20+ win season and 14th appearance in the NCAA tournament. 

Adelphi won the first matchup between these two nearly 10 weeks ago, but the sequel proved to be of higher drama.

The Wildcats, (25-6) came out strong following their win over American International last night, winning the first two of three sets. The hosts rallied in the second frame hitting at a match-high .293 clip along with 13 kills. Despite the Panthers earning a 17-13 advantage in set three, the visitors stormed back strong to set the tone the rest of the evening, with a .222 hitting percentage. The home side lost the kill battle 48-33 through the first three frames, hitting at .185 as a team.

Facing another deficit heading into the fourth, quit wasn't an option on the home side. They served up 11 kills with their fourth ace of the day. However, after getting some separation at 20-16, the Wildcats proved to be too resilient to overcome, with set four ending 25-23. 

Delaney Kiendra continued to shine for Adelphi, hitting .500 with eight kills. Noelle Alberda surged near the end totaling 12 of her own, good enough for a .344 hitting percentage. AVCA East Region Player of the Year Jamie Yonker along with Macarty McQueen kept the Brown and Gold competitive in the digs battle, with 17 and 15, respectively. Kambel Fiser stuck to business as usual, leading the team in assists with 33. 

Adelphi's season now comes to a close, with the East Regional Final between No. 5 Daemen and No. 3 Bentley taking place Saturday (Dec. 2) night. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. at the Center for Recreation & Sports.