Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. ? It was Manhattan College volleyball head coach Jolie Ward's birthday on Sunday, and she received two of the best presents she could have wanted. First, her team celebrated the occasion by doing something it hadn't done all season?win back-to-back matches. Then the Lady Jaspers (8-16, 7-7 MAAC) got the help they needed to remain in the MAAC playoff hunt. Manhattan got back to .500 in conference play with a 25-23, 25-22, 25-21 victory over Rider (9-15, 2-12 MAAC) at Draddy Gymnasium, and moved within one win of fourth place in the conference after Iona knocked off Marist in Poughkeepsie.
With the first set tied at 3-3, Manhattan went on a 4-0 run, capped by consecutive Jaci Rahey (West Milford, N.J.) service aces to go up 7-3. However, Rider responded with a 9-2 rally to pull in front 12-9. The Broncs extended their lead to 15-11 before a 5-0 Manhattan run gave the Lady Jaspers a 16-15 advantage. Rider scored the next two points to pull ahead, 17-16, but three straight Manhattan points put the Lady Jaspers back in front, and they wouldn't relinquish the lead for the remainder of the set. Manhattan reached set point at 24-21 and sealed a 25-23 win on a kill by Sherryta Stokes (Beltsville, Md.).
Rider built a 14-10 edge in the second set before Manhattan went on a 10-2 run to take a 20-16 advantage. The Broncs stormed back to force a 22-22 tie, but kills by Andrea Reiff (Hawthorne, N.Y.) and Stokes on the next two plays gave Manhattan a set point. The Lady Jaspers capped a 25-22 win with a block by Rahey and Jen Haggerty (Springfield, Pa.).
The Broncs scored the first four points of the third set before Manhattan rallied to tie the score at 5-5. Rider tallied the next three points to regain the lead, 8-5. Trailing 11-9, the Lady Jaspers went on a 7-2 run to go up 16-13 before the Broncs rallied back and tied it again at 19-19. Manhattan went back in front on a kill by Alyssa Getzel (Richmond, Va.) and scored four of the next five points to get to match point at 24-21. Reiff's ace on match point finished off a 25-21 win and Manhattan's second sweep of Rider in eight.
No Manhattan player reached double-digit kills, although four Lady Jaspers recorded at least seven. Stokes led the way with nine kills and added 11 digs, while Jackie Kapovich (Downers Grove, Ill.), Rahey and Reiff each had seven kills. Reiff and Diane Strutner (San Jose, Calif.) each tallied a team-high 13 digs, as the Lady Jaspers out-dug the Broncs 56-48. Getzel notched a double-double with 27 assists and 11 digs. As a team, Manhattan hit .164 (35-17-110) for the match.
Lacey Johnson had a match-high 18 kills (half of Rider's team total) and hit .324 for the Broncs. Brittany Hayes added nine kills and hit .467. Amy Jeary registered a match-high 14 digs for Rider, while Amanda Piccolini and Johnson each had eight digs. Elyse Grassmuck dished out 16 assists and Piccolini tallied 13 assists, including the 1,000th of her career. Rider hit .122 (36-22-115) as a team.
Three of the Lady Jaspers' four remaining regular season matches are at Draddy Gymnasium. Manhattan's homestand continues next weekend when Niagara (5-22, 3-12 MAAC) and Canisius (16-8, 11-4 MAAC) come to Riverdale. The Lady Jaspers and Purple Eagles square off at 11 a.m. on Saturday, while the matchup with Canisius starts at 11 a.m. on Sunday. Manhattan split with Niagara and Canisius earlier this season, defeating the Purple Eagles in three sets and falling to the Golden Griffins in four.
