SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Taking on the two-time defending Northeast-10 Conference Champion, and fifth-seeded Adelphi University, the eighth-seeded Pace University women's volleyball team was eliminated from the 2016 Northeast-10 Conference Championships in a tough five-set semifinal match Friday evening at American International College's (AIC) Butova Gymnasium. The Panthers advance to take on No. 3 University of New Haven, which defeated host No. 2 AIC in five sets earlier in the evening, in the championship match on Saturday.
RESULTS
Adelphi 3,
Pace 2 (17-25, 18-25, 25-11, 25-15, 15-5)
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET 1
- Even play early on resulted in the Setters holding a 7-6 lead.
- Pace then went on a 5-0 run fueled by a pair of kills by sophomore
Claudia Fontanet (Bayamon, Puerto Rico/Academia Maria Reina) and a pair of aces by freshman
Maria Snelling (University Heights, OH/Gilmour Academy) to grab a 12-6 advantage.
- The lead continued to grow as three straight points later on put the Setters on top, 21-13.
- The Panthers battled back to get within seven, but freshman
Samantha Nidini (Houston, TX/Clearlake) closed the door with a surprise kill to close out the set with a 25-17 win.
SET 2
- The Panthers took a quick 3-0 lead in the second frame, eventually jumping out to a 5-1 advantage.
- The Setters quickly turned the tables, scoring four straight to tie it up.
- The game was later tied up at 8-8, but the Setters then rolled off four straight to take a 12-8 lead.
- Up 17-13, the Setters improved upon their lead with three more points in a row to lead by seven in the second set.
- Adelphi got back within four at 21-17, and again at 22-18, but Pace closed it out with the final three points to claim a 25-18 win and a 2-0 lead.
SET 3
- Adelphi took an early 6-1 lead, and expanded it to 10-3 later on in the third set.
- Leading 19-10, the Panthers then scored five in a row to make it 24-10.
- Pace got one back on a service error, but Adelphi responded with the final point to keep the match going.
SET 4
- The Setters held an early 4-3 lead in the fourth frame.
- The Panthers then went on a 6-0 run to take claim to a 9-4 advantage.
- Adelphi's lead steadily increased throughout the set, eventually leading to a 25-15 win for the Panthers to force the deciding fifth set.
SET 5
- Adelphi kept its momentum and took the first three points of the final set.
- Fontanet threw down a kill to get Pace on the board, but the Panthers responded with three more points to take a 6-1 lead.
- Fontanet picked up another kill, but Adelphi scored twice more to reach an 8-2 lead and switch sides of the court.
- The Setters made it 9-3, but the Panthers then scored five in a row to force match point.
- An attack error for the Panthers, followed by another kill for Fontanet kept things going, but Adelphi's Melissa Rigo spiked one to the floor one last time to give Adelphi the win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Fontanet picked up her 23rd double-double of 2016 with a team-high 14 kills to go along with 11 digs.
- Nidini joins her with 29 assists and 13 digs, adding three kills and a pair of aces as well.
- Freshman
Danielle Vaiano (Seaford, NY/St. Anthony's) picked up a team-high 22 digs, while senior
Samantha Marquez (Palmetto Bay, FL/Miami Palmetto/Palm Beach State College) added 15.
ADELPHI LEADERS
- Rigo led the floor with 22 kills to go along with 18 digs.
- Mandy Stanislovaitis registered 16 kills and 14 digs on the evening.
- Megan Manierski dished out a match-high 42 assists and also had a team-high 21 digs.
RECORDS
- No. 8 Pace: 23-9
- No. 5 Adelphi: 20-11
AWAITING THEIR FATE
- The Setters came in as the No. 8 team in this week's NCAA East Region Rankings before defeating top-seeded Le Moyne College on Tuesday.
- With the chance of being selected for an at-large bid into the NCAA Championship Tournament, the Setters will be watching the NCAA Selection Show on Monday, Nov. 21, at 7:30 p.m. on NCAA.com.
For all information regarding Pace University Women's Volleyball, log on to
www.PaceUAthletics.com and follow
Pace Volleyball on Facebook and Twitter (
@PaceVolleyball).
