Philadelphia, Pa. - A trip to Philadelphia was twice as nice for the Adelphi University volleyball team on Saturday, as the Brown and Gold swept regional foes Chestnut Hill College and Jefferson University in a tri-match hosted by Jefferson.
Adelphi (8-4) extended its winning streak to four straight matches with the win, all of which have been sweeps. Seven of the eight wins by Danielle Macknight's team in the first three weeks of the season, in fact, have been sweeps.
Lilyen McCarthy paced the Brown and Gold attack in the two wins, as she was the only Panther to record at least 10 kills in both contests. She had a match-high 10 against CHC to start the day, and tied
Noelle Alberda with a match-high 14 in the nightcap.
Kambel Fiser and
Brenna Valsted split setting duties on the afternoon and were equally solid: Fiser's 28 assists against the Griffins helped Adelphi hit a solid .257 in the opener, while Valsted dished out 37 assists against the host Rams. Valsted's 37 assists were not only a season best; she also tallied a double-double behind 12 digs.
Macarty McQueen was also a dual threat in the second match, where she too recorded a double-double behind 11 kills and a team-high 14 digs.
Adelphi vs. Chestnut Hill
Strong starts in the first two sets against the Griffins (3-6) helped Adelphi establish itself in the opening match, but the Brown and Gold was forced to rally in set three to finish the match in style.
The 'Cats trailed 8-5 and 11-8 early in the set, where spurts of three straight points each time knotted the action. But Adelphi's most impressive run came at the close of the match, after Fiser mishandled a ball that gave CHC an 18-17 lead. The Brown and Gold claimed eight of the last 10 points, helped in part by three McCarthy kills, to wrap up the victory, and Fiser hammered home an ace (her third, and one of Adelphi's 11 in three sets) to put a bow on the opening win.
As a club, Adelphi recorded 35 kills to just nine hitting errors across the three sets.
Adelphi vs. Jefferson
The Panthers led by as much as six (10-4) early on in the first set against host Jefferson, and led big as late as 19-14, but needed four set points to wrap up an opening set that went past the standard 25-points-for-the-winner.
Sets two and three were similarly tit-for-tat, but sustained momentum by the Brown and Gold at crucial moments helped its cause. With Adelphi trailing 15-12 in the second set, a McCarthy kill sparked an 11-3 run that put the visitors in pole position, before Alberda and
Anna Oden finished things off later on. In the final frame, Jefferson's last stand came thanks to a 5-0 run that knotted the set at 17-17, but another Alberda kill gave Adelphi a lead in never relinquished from then on.
Adelphi is back in action on Monday night at the University of Bridgeport, as it faces its third straight regional opponent out of the CACC. Bridgeport has won its last six matches and is 10-2 on the season. First serve on the Purple Knights' home floor is scheduled for 7 p.m.
About Adelphi Athletics
A regionally- and nationally-competitive NCAA Division II institution located in Garden City, N.Y., Adelphi University has been a proud member of the Northeast-10 Conference since 2009.
Winners of 17 NCAA Division II National Championships and four NE10 Presidents' Cups, Adelphi student-athletes have excelled at the conference, regional and national level, both on the field of play and in the classroom. In turn, the Adelphi University Department of Athletics is committed to fostering an environment of diversity, inclusion, equity and success, where its student-athletes can thrive both on campus and off.
Stay connected with Adelphi Athletics by following the Panthers at
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