FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
No. 3 American International and No. 4 Southern Connecticut State advanced to the Northeast 10 Conference Volleyball Championship on Saturday with semifinal victories on Friday evening on the Adelphi campus at Garden City, N.Y. The Yellow Jackets upset No. 2 Adelphi, 3-2, while the Owls ousted No. 8 Saint Anselm, 3-1. First serve on Saturday is at 5 p.m. at Adelphi.
#3 American International 3, #2 Adelphi 2 - Box Score
Garden City, N.Y. - The second-seeded Adelphi University volleyball team was upset in the semifinal round of the Northeast 10 Championship on Friday night inside the Center for Recreation and Sport by third-seeded American International College in five sets.
Down 2-1 in the match, the Panthers (26-6) put together one of their best sets of the season to force a fifth thanks to a 25-9 final decision. Adelphi cranked 11 kills to just one attack error and held the Yellow Jackets (21-10) to a -.156 hitting percentage, handing the visitors their second-lowest set score of the year in the fourth.
Nonetheless, a pair of blocks for the AIC front line at 2-2 helped the visitors claim a lead they would never relinquish in the fifth set, and though the Brown and Gold saved two match points in the final set, a kill for Andrea Serra sent the third seeds into Saturday's championship by a final score of 25-20, 22-25, 25-18, 9-25, 15-12.
Madison Canestrari tied a career-best with 10 blocks in the match overall (2S, 8A) to tie an Adelphi single-game record for the third time in her career. The senior, who also notched 10 blocks against AIC on Oct. 17, 2015, shares that mark with Kaitlyn DeStefano ('15) and Jenna Sweeney ('03).
Canestrari added six kills, while the Adelphi attack was paced by a combined 25 for Sara Bisbe (13) and Cara McKenzie (12). Grace Wegmann dished off 43 set assists, while NE10 Libero of the Year Katarina Warburton tallied 25 digs.
For AIC, NE10 Player of the Year Jana Potic led all players with 15 kills, leading four Yellow Jackets with at least 10. Serra added 14 kills with 14 digs for a double-double, while NE10 Setter of the Year Dolores Kopren dished off 48 assists and notched 13 digs.
#4 Southern Connecticut State 3, #8 Saint Anselm 1 - Box Score
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. - The Southern Connecticut State University volleyball team defeated Saint Anselm, 3-1 (25-22, 20-25, 25-21, 25-23), in the Northeast 10 Conference Championship Semifinals at Adelphi University. With the win, the Owls advance to the NE10 Championship match for the second-straight year where they'll face American International on Saturday, Nov. 10 at 5 p.m.
Leanna Jadus (Long Beach, Calif.) led the Owls with 19 kills as well as seven digs as well as three service aces while Alyssa Gage (Beverly HIlls, Fla.) turned in a double-double with 18 kills and 17 digs. Gabriela Vazquez (Meriden, Conn.) had 11 kills, seven digs and three aces while Jillian Chambers (Shelby Township, Mich.) had five kills and 18 digs. Freshman setter Kailyn O'Neal (Katy, Texas) had a career-best 48 assists, coming on 58 SCSU kills.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1: Saint Anselm 25, Southern Connecticut 22: Jadus paced the Owls with six kills on SCSU's 13 kills for the first set while O'Neal had 10 assists. The Owls jumped out to an early lead, but in a set that featured back-and-forth play and a flurry of lead changes, the Howks overcame a 19-16 SCSU lead with a 9-3 run to jump out to a 1-0 lead.
Set 2: Southern Connecticut 25, Saint Anselm 20: Gage totals seven kills in the second set, to reach nine through two sets, to lead the Owls in a 25-20 win in the second set. O'Neal registered 13 assists in the second set and stood at 23 for the match heading into the third set.
Set. 3: Southern Connecticut 25, Saint Anselm 21: Both teams traded points before the Owls, with a 17-16 lead, used a 7-3 run to take a 24-19 lead, highlighted by three kills from Kirstin Colwell and one from Jillian Chambers. Gage finished the Hawks off with her 15th kill of the game in the third frame.
Set 4: Southern Connecticut 25, Saint Anselm 23: The Owls capped off a back-and-forth battle with a 4-1 run to close-out a 25-23 final set victory.
Match 4: #4 Southern Connecticut 3, #5 Southern New Hampshire 0
Semifinals - at highest remaining seed following the quarterfinal matches
Match 6: #4 Southern Connecticut 3, #8 Saint Anselm 1
Championship
Match 7: #3 American International vs. #4 Southern Connecticut (5:00 pm)
ABOUT THE NE10
The NE10 is an association of 15 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.