WALTHAM, Mass. – Lauren McCloskey and
Caitlin Wunder both put away 15 kills as the top-seeded Bentley volleyball team advanced to the NCAA East Regional Final with a 3-1 (25-23, 32-30, 21-25, 25-18) win over #5 Adelphi in the Dana Center Saturday night.
Bentley will take on #3 American International for the regional title Saturday, Dec. 7, at 6 p.m. It is a rematch of this year's Northeast-10 Tournament title match in Springfield, where AIC topped the Falcons in four sets. Bentley won the program's first-ever regional title in 2023.
Freshmen
Tory Vitko and
Sophia Poehlein both posted double-doubles in the winning effort over Adelphi. Vitko had 47 assists and 13 digs, while Poehlein added 10 kills and 10 digs.
Jazzy Burke came away with a team-high 15 digs.
After winning the first set by a narrow margin, 25-23, Bentley was pulling away in the second set with a 16-9 lead. However, the Panthers' aggressive serving ultimately allowed Adelphi to go on a 6-0 run and tie the set, 18-18.
Bentley reclaimed a two-point lead, 22-20, but the Panthers responded with consecutive points. A kill by Poehlein gave Bentley a 25-24 edge, but Adelphi came back with a kill of its own. An Adelphi error but the Falcons back in front by one point, but back-to-back kills by Noelle Alberda gave the Panthers a 27-26 edge.
Wunder kept the set alive with a kill for Bentley, and then an ace by
Elizabeth Blinn gave the Falcons a 28-27 edge. The teams were knotted up at 30, but a kill by McCloskey followed by an Adelphi error allowed Bentley to win the second frame, 32-30.
For Bentley, it was the first set this season that reached 30 points.
Despite losing the second set, the Panthers' strong comeback bid carried over into the third set where they won by a score of 25-21.
Momentum favored Adelphi early in the fourth set when it ran out to a 5-1 lead. Bentley kept its composure and eventually took a 10-9 lead following a kill by Blinn. The set was tied, 11-11, and that's when Bentley tallied five consecutive points. A kill by Wunder started the decisive run, and another kill of hers gave Bentley a 16-11 lead. The Falcons held the lead for the rest of the match.
