Riverdale, NY (September 22, 2004)- Columbia came back from down two games to one in the match to defeat Manhattan tonight at Draddy Gymnasium, 3-2 (18-30, 30-27, 28-30, 30-24, 16-14). For Columbia, Nikki Learned, Cassie Ligh and Natalie Gerling all posted double-doubles in kills and digs.
Maggie Pfeifer had 22 kills for the Lady Jaspers and
Megan O'Dorisio had 17 kills, while
Helena Ward totaled 16 kills for a .484 hitting percentage.
Manhattan (2-10) jumped out in the first game to a 15-10 lead, but Columbia (2-7) cut the lead to two points at 18-16. However, behind two service aces from
Ashley Davis, the Lady Jaspers went on a 7-0 run and put away the first game.
Columbia stormed back in the second game, taking their largest lead of the game at 18-12. Manhattan fought back to cut the deficit to a single point at 26-25 and 27-26, but the Lions scored the final two points of the game on a pair of kills from Chrissy James to even the match at one game apiece.
The third game, which featured 14 ties, was a microcosm of the match. After Columbia led 7-4 early, neither team would take a lead of more than two points. Manhattan eventually took a 29-27 lead, and at 29-28, O'Dorisio put away a kill to give the Lady Jaspers a 2-1 lead in the match.
However, Columbia fought back again, and took the fourth game behind five kills from Gerling and a team hitting percentage of .419.
The fifth game was another back and forth affair, as Columbia held a 6-4 lead early but Manhattan took the next five points to go up by a score of 9-6. This time, it was Columbia that came back to move ahead 14-11. The Lady Jaspers denied three match points to tie the score at 14, but sealed the victory with kills from Ligh and Gerling to take the deciding game 16-14.
Manhattan is in action next on Friday, September 24, when they will play Wagner at the Courtyard by Marriott at Yale Classic. Game time is 5:00 p.m.
