Garden City, N.Y. – On the shoulders of Emilia Cascapera, the Adelphi University volleyball team picked up its fourth consecutive win at home, in a 3-1 decision over Georgian Court on Thursday.
Cascapera paced the hosts' offensive unit with 17 kills and hitting .308 throughout the contest - the former standing as a new career-best for the Peekskill native.
The Panthers (11-7) found themselves in a back and forth opening set with the Lions (7-7). During the first frame, neither team was able to pull away by more than a point as there were 13 ties throughout. In the end, it was the visitors who held the two point advantage to win in extras, 26-24.
The second set saw six lead changes, as teams exchanged multiple three-point runs. The Brown and Gold were up by as many as five points in the latter half, but the Lions came back to cut the lead to 23-20. However, the home team was able to fend off the run and win the set 25-21 with the help of two kills from Cascapera.
In the third frame, the Panther offense started to get hot with multiple kills from Cascapera and senior Noelle Alberda, plus a trio of service aces from Kambel Fiser. Establishing its lead, the home team managed to keep Georgian Court at bay, never allowing them to get closer than two points.
Adelphi closed out the set with a service ace from senior Jamaya Harris, who was one of four Panthers to have at least three service aces in the contest. The 'Cats put up a season best 16-aces in the four set match, and now have four games with double-digit ace numbers.
The final set was all Adelphi, engineering a six point swing in the early part of the frame courtesy of three Jaydin Nowak service aces. The hosts continued to put together runs as the Lions struggled to find any momentum as the game got later. Mackenzie Casey and Madeleine Chaapel got in on the scoring in the final points of the match, resulting in a 25-12 fourth set victory.
Fiser led the match with 45 assists and added four service aces to boot, while Jaydin Nowak was responsible for 18 digs.
The 'Cats are back in action on Saturday, Oct. 12 as they take on Bentley University in Waltham, Mass. Gametime is set for 1 p.m.
