Manchester, N.H. - In 30 games played for Adelphi University volleyball, junior Ana Carolina Westerich tallied her 1,000^th career assist, as the Panthers took down Southern New Hampshire University in the regular season finale on Saturday. 

Adelphi's offense, led by Madeleine Chaapel and Elena Covic, put together a .487 team hitting percentage over three sets with the aforementioned posting 13 and 10 kills, respectively. Westerich ended with 29 assists after notching her milestone and currently stands at 1,012 with postseason on the horizon. 

Coming from behind in the opening set, Adelphi rattled off an 11-4 run to take a five-point advantage in the contest. A shift in momentum allowed the Cats to push their lead to eight and cruise to a 25-16 first set win. 

Adelphi was nearly perfect on offense in the second set, as they hit .524 as a team with 12 kills and just a single error. With 12 total aces in the game, six came in the second frame alone, with a trio from Macarty McQueen and an additional pair from Sarah Munn. The Panthers (23-7, 8-1 NE10) jumped out to a 10-1 advantage and could not be stopped as the Penmen were unable to string together more than two points at a clip. The visiting team dominated with a 25-6 second set win to move to 2-0 in the match. 

Another substantial lead for the Brown and Gold in the final set allowed for another near perfect offensive effort, with 18 kills and just a pair of errors to hit .533 as a team. By the time Adelphi got to 21-9, the home team began to see some momentum, but the deficit was too great to overcome. 

The Panthers will host Franklin Pierce in a quarterfinal matchup for the 2025 Northeast 10 Conference volleyball tournament on Tuesday, November 16. Game time is set for 6:00 p.m. inside the Center for Recreation and Sports.