COLCHESTER, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College women's volleyball team lost for just the second time in six matches on Saturday, falling to 2012 NCAA Tournament regional semifinalist Adelphi University, 3-1 (25-12, 21-25, 25-14, 25-21), at the Ross Sports Center. The Purple Knights are now 11-7 overall and 3-5 in the Northeast-10 Conference, while the Panthers improved to 15-8 and 7-1.

Senior Chelsey Covitz (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield) had nine kills and two blocks for Saint Michael's, while sophomore Kelsey Flaherty (Cold Spring, N.Y./Haldane) turned in eight kills and seven digs. Sophomore Candace Washington (New Carrollton, Md./Parkdale) added seven kills and two blocks, and senior Lindsay Phenix (Tewksbury, Mass./Central Catholic) notched six kills and two blocks. Classmate Jess McLeod (Medfield, Mass./Medfield) dished out 29 assists while adding eight digs, first-year Natalie Moore (Burnt Hills, N.Y./Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) tallied 14 digs, and junior Hillary Miller (Plattsburgh, N.Y./Plattsburgh/Colby-Sawyer) contributed nine digs.

Sophomore Kaitlyn DeStefano (Farmingdale, N.Y./Farmingdale) collected 14 kills and seven blocks for Adelphi, and first-year Shelby Stoner (Anchorage, Alaska/South Anchorage) picked up 10 kills. Junior Haley Blunt (East Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville) had 16 digs, and senior Katie Bryson (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) tallied 42 assists.

The visitors scored the first seven points of the opening set behind the service of Bryson and never looked back before claiming a 7-3 edge in set No. 2. However, Saint Michael's responded with a 10-3 run behind two kills and an ace from Flaherty. The Panthers twice crept within one point, but the Purple Knights pushed their advantage to five points on three occasions before Covitz notched a kill at set point to tie the match. In the third set, Adelphi extended a 4-3 edge into an 18-8 lead and never again led by fewer than eight points. The fourth set saw five ties, with neither team leading by more than five points. Down 20-16, Saint Michael's crept within 22-21 before Adelphi notched the final three points.

Saint Michael's heads to Le Moyne College on Friday for a 7 p.m. match.