Manhattan Comeback Falls Just Short In Five-Set Loss to Siena

Box Score 

RIVERDALE, N.Y. ? After dropping the first two sets, incurring a penalty in the third and facing a match point in the fourth, the Manhattan College volleyball team (5-14, 4-6 MAAC) fought back to force a fifth set before falling to Siena (10-10, 8-2 MAAC) 25-14, 25-19, 22-25, 26-28, 15-8 at Draddy Gymnasium on Sunday afternoon.  The loss was Manhattan's second straight, ending the team's streak of alternating wins and losses at 11.

The Saints scored the first point of the match and quickly built a 6-1 advantage.  Manhattan pulled within 8-5, but never seriously challenged Siena in the first set.  The Saints went on a 7-0 run with Brianne Bobo serving to extend their lead from 13-9 to 20-9.  The Lady Jaspers scored the next three points to make it 20-12, but the margin was too great and Siena won the set, 25-14.  Siena hit an impressive .500 (17 kills, two errors, 30 attacks) in the first set, while Manhattan hit .108 (10-6-37).

The second set started off tight before Siena used a 5-0 run to take a 10-5 lead.  The Saints increased their lead to 19-11 on a service ace by Kelly Hummel before the Lady Jaspers rallied for the next three points to make it 19-14.  Manhattan pulled within 21-17 on a kill by Jaci Rahey (West Milford, N.J.), but Siena closed out the set on a 4-2 run to claim a 25-19 win and take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Siena started the third set up 4-0 after Manhattan was assessed a four-point penalty for returning to the court too late following the 10-minute intermission.  Instead of serving as the deciding blow against them, the penalty served to spark the Lady Jaspers.  Manhattan won the first five points that were played in the set to take a 5-4 lead.  With Siena leading 10-9, the Lady Jaspers went on a 4-0 rally, featuring two Alyssa Getzel (Richmond, Va.) aces, to take a 13-10 advantage.  Siena responded with a 5-1 rally to go back in front, 15-14, but Manhattan regained the lead after scoring the next three points.  The Lady Jaspers ran their lead to three points when Getzel's kill made it 20-17, and the sides traded points for the remainder of the set.  Manhattan took the set, 25-22, to extend the match into the fourth set.

Siena also took a 4-0 lead in the fourth set (after winning the first four points), but the Lady Jaspers rallied and forced a 7-7 tie.  Manhattan took a 10-9 lead on a kill by Sherryta Stokes (Beltsville, Md.).  With the set knotted at 14-14, a 3-0 Manhattan rally capped by consecutive Stokes kills put the Lady Jaspers in front, 17-14.  The Lady Jaspers went in front 23-20 on an ace by Andrea Reiff (Hawthorne, N.Y.), but Siena responded with a 4-0 rally to get to match point at 24-23.  The Lady Jaspers stayed alive when Amanda Begin committed a service error, then earned a set point after a kill by Rita Welsh (Collegeville, Pa.).  Siena fought off the set point, then another at 26-25.  With the score tied at 26-26, Welsh slammed back-to-back kills to finish off a 28-26 Manhattan win and send the match into a decisive set.

After Manhattan took a 3-2 lead in the fifth set, Siena rallied for six straight points and had an 8-3 advantage when the teams switched sides.  Manhattan won the next point to make it 8-4 and pulled within three at 9-6, but Siena responded with a three-point run to bring its lead back to six at 12-6.  The Saints got to match point at 14-8 and finished it off on the next point when Burgandy McCurty slammed her 28^th kill of the match.  Siena tallied seven kills and made just one error in 16 attempts, hitting .375 in the fifth set.  The loss snapped Manhattan's three-match winning streak in five-set matches.

Four Lady Jaspers tallied double-digit kills, led by 16 from Welsh.  Rahey added a season-high 15 kills and Stokes had a double-double with 14 kills and 15 digs.  Jackie Kapovich (Downers Grove, Ill.) registered 10 kills and added five blocks for Manhattan.  Reiff posted a match-high 21 digs, while Diane Strutner (San Jose, Calif.) recorded 11 digs.  Getzel finished one dig shy of a double-double with 49 assists and nine digs.  She also notched three aces.  As a team, the Lady Jaspers hit .194 (63-28-180) for the match.

McCurty's 28 kills were a match-high.  She added 11 digs and four blocks for the Saints.  McCurty also hit .386, committing six errors in 57 attempts.  Hummel posted 16 kills and committed just one error in 29 swings for an impressive hitting percentage of .517.  Aimee Gosse led four Saints in double figures with 16 digs, as Siena out-dug Manhattan 71-69.  Begin had 11 digs, while April London recorded a double-double with 52 assists and 12 digs.  She also tallied eight kills.  Siena hit .285 (69-20-172) as a team in the match.