Adelphi University Women's Volleyball

Benjamin Sandt enters his fourth season as an assistant coach in 2025.  Sandt is a 2020 graduate from Johnson and Wales where he played for the men's team for three seasons. He reached the 1,000 assist mark in two seasons with the Wildcats, averaging 6.47 per set, en route to earning All-Conference accolades. Before college, Sandt was a two-time All-County player at Northport High School and played for Academy Volleyball club for four years.  Upon graduation from high school he joined the coaching ranks at several high school programs on Long Island while also being on staff for Academy, coaching three teams and giving lessons. 

Brenna Valsted enters her second season as an assistant coach in 2025.  After a successful five-year stint with the Panthers that saw AVCA Honorable Mention East Region honors, she returns to the program while pursuing a master's degree in general psychology.  Valsted was a Northeast-10 Conference First Team selection in 2021, named to the NE10 All-Tournament team in 2022 and named the team's MVP at the conclusion of the 2022-23 school year. Excelling on the court, the Louisville, Kentucky native also shined in the classroom, as a three-year Academic Honor Roll honoree and two time D2ADA Academic Achievement Award recipient.  During her five years of being a college athlete, Valsted engaged in over 200 hours of community service alongside her teammates.  While wrapping up her Bachelor's degree in Psychology, she landed an internship with SelfWorks, a a private psychotherapy practice in Manhattan.

Jaydin Nowak enters her first season on the sidelines for the Adelphi volleyball program in 2025.  In her storied, four-year career playing for the Panthers, she finishes eighth all time for career digs with 1,158. Serving as the primary libero in her final campaign, she put up a single season dig mark of 592 which ranks sixth in the record books. The Michigan native put up a career total of 97 service aces and totaled 154 assists to boot.  Her final season also saw her earn a share of the annual team MVP award as she was also named a Northeast 10 Third Team honoree and CSC Academic All-District selection. In May 2025, she graduated with Bachelor of Business Administration in Management with a specialization in Marketing, alongside a minor in Criminal Justice. She is actively earning her MBA while coaching the team for which she once starred. 

Umberto Piscitelli enters his first season on the sidelines for the Adelphi volleyball program in 2025.  Since 2022, he has coached volleyball for athletes ages 12–18, where he plans and leads practices, designs skill-based drills, and mentors players both on and off the court. His coaching emphasizes technical training, motivation, and team culture, with a proven ability to prepare athletes for high-level competition. As a former member of the St. Joseph’s University (Long Island) NCAA Division III Men’s Volleyball Team, Umberto competed at regional and national levels, honing leadership, teamwork, and communication skills.  Currently pursuing his Bachelor’s in Physical Education at Adelphi University (expected May 2028), Umberto combines academic knowledge with hands-on experience to inspire and develop student-athletes.

Danielle MacKnight begins her 18th year as the head coach of the Adelphi University women’s volleyball team in 2024. She was tabbed the sixth head coach in program history in August of 2007, after serving as interim head coach for part of the 2006 season. The 2022 was a milestone season as MacKnight led her squad to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen for the first time in program history, after producing the Northeast-10 Conference Rookie and Libero of the Year. She saw a major award in each subsequent year in Libero and Setter of the Year.  Over her first decade at the helm of the Panthers, MacKnight has built the Brown and Gold into a powerhouse in the East Region. The team has won three Northeast-10 Conference Championship titles (2011, 2014, 2015) and has appeared in the NCAA Tournament in all but one of her years at the helm. In 12 of her 18 seasons leading the Panthers, MacKnight's teams have posted 20 or more wins, and she leads program history in career wins by a head coach. In 10 years, MacKnight has seen multiple players earn All-Conference and All-Region honors by the ECC, NE10, East Coast Athletic Conference (ECAC), Daktronics/D2CAA and AVCA. In her tenure, MacKnight has coached nine AVCA All-Americans, as Kaitlyn DeStefano ('15) was the first All-American in program history - a feat she accomplished twice - and one CoSIDA Academic All-American. In her first year in 2007, MacKnight's team earned the school’s first ever NCAA Regional bid, as she earned East Coast Conference (ECC) Co-Coach of the Year and was honored by the Nassau County Sports Commission as Female College Coach of the Year. In 2009, MacKnight received the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Thirty Under 30 Award as one of the top 30 coaches under the age of 30 in the nation at all levels, and she was also named the AVCA East Region Coach of the Year in 2015 - a season in which the team tied a program record for wins (27), won the NE10 title and hosted in the NCAA East Regional. She doubled up on the honor in 2022, after leading the team to the program's first Sweet Sixteen.  Prior to being appointed as head coach, MacKnight had been an Adelphi assistant coach in 2005 and 2006, helping Adelphi to 31-25 overall record. MacKnight earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from Stony Brook in 2005, where she was a four-year member and starter on the Seawolves volleyball team from 2001-04. She graduated holding the school record for block assists in a career (318) and the single match record for attack percentage (.800), and ranked second all-time in total blocks (425) and third in blocks per game (1.06).   Born and raised in Valley Stream, N.Y., MacKnight attended Valley Stream Central High School where she lettered in both volleyball and basketball and won a gold medal in 2000 at the Empire State Games. MacKnight is also a graduate of Adelphi, receiving her master’s in physical education and teaching in 2007. MacKnight's Year-by-Year Coaching Record 3 NE10 Titles; 8 NE10 Finals; 14 NCAA Appearances Year -Overall- -Conference- -Notes- W-L Pct. W-L 2007 27-8 .771 7-2 ECC ECC Semifinalists; NCAA First Round 2008 27-12 .692 11-5 ECC ECC Semifinalists; NCAA First Round 2009 27-10 .730 14-1 NE10 NE10 Finalists; NCAA First Round 2010 20-12 .625 11-4 NE10 NE10 Semifinalists; NCAA Second Round 2011 23-8 .742 12-3 NE10 NE10 Champions; NCAA Second Round 2012 25-12 .676 13-2 NE10 NE10 Finalists; NCAA Second Round 2013 19-13 .593 10-4 NE10    NE10 Semifinalists; NCAA First Round 2014 16-15 .516 10-4 NE10 NE10 Champions; NCAA First Round 2015 27-5 .843 14-0 NE10 NE10 Champions; NCAA Second Round 2016 20-13 .666 9-5 NE10 NE10 Finalists; NCAA First Round 2017 13-15 .464 9-5 NE10 NE10 Quarterfinalists 2018 27-7 .794 12-2 NE10 NE10 Semifinalists; NCAA Second Round 2019 14-11 .560 7-6 NE10 NCAA First Round (did not make NE10 tournament due to tiebreak policy) 2020 - - - No season due to COVID-19 pandemic 2021  17-11 .607 6-7 NE10 No postseason 2022 23-11 .676 10-2 NE10 NE10 Finalist; NCAA Sweet Sixteen* 2023 26-7 .787 10-1 NE10 NE10 Finalist; NCAA Second Round 2024 23-10 .697 8-2 NE10 NE10 Semifinalist: NCAA Second Round 17 seasons 374-180 .675 165-53 NE10  3 NE10 Championships, 15 NCAA Appearances