WEST HAVEN, Conn.,- The University of New Haven women's volleyball team suffered a 3-2 loss at Adelphi Friday night in the semifinal round of the Northeast-10 Conference Championship. The Panthers fought off a UNH match point in the fourth set, while earning the win with set scores of 22-25, 25-23, 22-25, 28-26, 15-12.

The Chargers fall to 21-8 with the loss, while the Panthers stay alive with a 15-14 overall mark. Likely to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II East Region Championship, New Haven will now wait for the release of the championship field on Sunday, Nov. 16 on NCAA.com at 10 p.m.

UNH was led by senior middle hitter Kristy Atufunwa (Denver, Colo./Denver East) with 16 kills and seven blocks. Classmates Hayley Wilson (Denver, Colo./Overland) and Margo Meteyer (Madison, Wis./Madison West) each hammered 11 swings. Meteyer added 22 digs and Kea-Marie Olaso (Kailua, Hawai'i/Le Jardin Academy) led the backrow with 23 digs. Setter Kaulana Ane (Paia, Hawai'i/Kamehameha) had a double-double with 48 assists and 18 digs.

Adelphi was led by Kaitlyn DeStefano with 15 kills and six blocks. Haley Blunt, Mandy Stanislovaitis and Shelby Stoner each tallied 13 kills in the victory. Megan Manierski handed out 50 helpers, while Sierra Crook led the defense with 27 digs.

The Chargers swing at a .182 clip, while Adelphi registered a .188 hitting percentage. The Chargers struggled in service receive with 10 errors, while the Panthers suffered 12 service errors.

The Chargers jumped out to an early lead in the opening set and led by as many as four (24-20) before Meteyer buried the set-winner for a 25-22 victory. Adelphi controlled the second set, leading by five points (23-18) in the latter part of the set. The Chargers managed to cut the lead to one with an Atufunwa kill, 24-23, but block by Samantha Breidenback and Shelby Stoner evened the match at one set apiece.

Adelphi also led through most of the third set and took a 20-16 lead with a UNH service error. Another New Haven service error would give Adelphi a 21-18 lead, but the Chargers then began to rally. Kills from Kristen Lee (Colorado Springs, Colo./Liberty) and Wilson brought the score within one, while three-straight Adelphi errors gave the Chargers a 23-21 lead. The Blue and Gold won the set with a pair of kills from Atufunwa and Lee for a 25-22 win and 2-1 advantage in the match.

The fourth set featured five lead changes before UNH and Adelphi were tied at 22-22. The Chargers then scored back-to-back points and had the serve with match point, 24-22. Adelphi managed to fight off that match point as well as three others to eventually earn a 28-26 win. DeStefano and Manierski blocked the set-winner as the match became knotted at two sets apiece.

The Chargers led also led early in the fifth set, holding an 8-5 advantage at the turn. Adelphi once again got hot and quickly even the set at 9-9 after a Stanislovaitis kill. The Panthers scored three more before a New Haven timeout stopped the run. Adelphi eventually earned the match victory with a Stoner kill from Manierski.

Adelphi advanced to the championship match and will take on third-seeded Bentley on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 5 p.m.