Lady Jaspers Fall to Stony Brook In Four Sets

Box Score 

STONY BROOK, N.Y. ? The Manhattan College volleyball team returned to action after 10 days off on Tuesday night.  The Lady Jaspers (0-3) won a set for the first time this season, but ultimately fell to Stony Brook (3-4) 25-22, 22-25, 25-18, 25-18 at Pritchard Gymnasium.  Andrea Reiff (Hawthorne, N.Y.) and Sherryta Stokes (Beltsville, Md.) each posted a double-double for Manhattan.

The match was tight from the start, as there were 10 ties and four lead changes in the first set.  A kill by Reiff broke a 9-9 tie and ignited a 4-0 Manhattan run that gave the Lady Jaspers the first significant lead of the set.  Stony Brook responded immediately, going on a 10-2 run that turned a 12-11 deficit into a 21-14 advantage.  The Seawolves got to set point at 24-16, but Manhattan refused to give in.  The Lady Jaspers rallied for six consecutive points and forced Stony Brook to take both its timeouts before the Seawolves finally put the game away, 25-22, on their seventh try.

Manhattan carried that momentum into the second set.  With the score tied at 4-4, a Reiff service ace started a 4-0 rally that gave the Lady Jaspers an 8-4 advantage.  Stony Brook rallied back to force a 9-9 tie, but Manhattan responded with a five-point run to go back in front, 14-9.  The Seawolves scored the next three points to make it 14-12, but Manhattan didn't let Stony Brook pull any closer the rest of the set.  Manhattan's lead reached 24-19 on a block by Rita Welsh (Collegeville, Pa.) and Alyssa Getzel (Richmond, Va.).  Manhattan needed four set points to close it out, but a kill by Welsh gave the Lady Jaspers a 25-22 win that tied the match at 1-1.

Stony Brook scored the first three points of the third set and held that advantage throughout.  With the Seawolves leading 15-10, Manhattan scored three straight points to pull within two, but Stony Brook quickly responded with a 9-2 run to set up set point.  Gulce Dikecligil's kill finished off the game, 25-18, and gave the Seawolves a 2-1 lead in the match.

It looked as if the match might go the distance early in the fourth set, as the Lady Jaspers opened up an 8-4 lead.  Stony Brook took a timeout after a Getzel ace extended Manhattan's lead to 12-7.  The Seawolves won the first point out of the timeout, then Dikecligil served back-to-back aces to ignite a 16-3 run that all but sealed the match for Stony Brook.  The Seawolves hit an outstanding .538 (15 kills, one error, 26 attempts) in the fourth set and closed out a 25-18 win on Dikecligil's match-high 16^th kill of the night.

Stokes led the Lady Jaspers with 11 kills and added 11 digs.  Reiff tallied 10 kills and 11 digs.  She also recorded three aces.  Jaci Rahey (West Milford, N.J.) registered nine kills, while Jen Haggerty (Springfield, Pa.) had a career-high eight kills.  Welsh added eight kills and three blocks, and Getzel dished out 36 assists.  Manhattan hit .171 (49-27-129) as a team and out-dug the Seawolves 43-42.

Dikecligil recorded a double-double for Stony Brook, recording match-highs with 16 kills and 13 digs.  She also tallied five of Stony Brook's 10 service aces.  Alicia Nelson posted 10 kills for the Seawolves, while Ashley Headen slammed eight kills.  Headen added eight blocks, including five solo stuffs.  Kelsey Sullivan distributed 40 assists for the Seawolves.  As a team, Stony Brook hit .267 (50-18-120) in the match.